[ET Net News Agency, 31 March 2020] Moody's Investors Service said in a new report that
nationwide property sales in China declined significantly in the first two months of this
year, amid the disruption brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.
"Chinese property sales declined by 34.7% in the first two months of 2020 compared to
the same period last year. While we expect sales to gradually recover as general activity
including construction picks up in March, the pace of recovery remains uncertain," said
Cedric Lai, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Analyst.
Moody's-rated developers' offshore bond issuance stayed at low level of $3.7 billion in
March, down from an average monthly issuance of $5.8 billion in 2019.
"We expect offshore bond issuance in the remainder of 2020 to stay subdued as most
developers have limited issuance quotas available and market conditions are volatile,"
added Lai.
Moody's expects Chinese developers' liquidity to further weaken in the first half of
2020, but most rated developers have adequate liquidity to buffer against the disruption
to sales. (KL)