| Ren Zhiqiang:Stimulus Measures to Boost the
Property Market Still Lack Strength
“The present stimulus measures designed to jolt the real estate market are not as effective as those of 1998,” said Ren Zhiqiang at the 2008 Annual Convention on Chinese Enterprises’ Competitive Ability. Ren is chairman of the Hua Yuan Group, a leading property development company in Beijing. He suggested the government formulate new policies, including cutting tax, introducing tax exemptions for buyers, and other preferential measures to boost the property market and promote Chinese economic growth during the global economic crisis. He says projects constructed in 2008 continued to result in large numbers of unoccupied houses. The country already has around 130 million square meters of idle apartments and houses, and this figure is likely to climb steeply if no new policies are unveiled. He adds: “Many projects have stopped construction. Investors are cutting back on their investments and property developers have no choice but default on their debts. As a result, the banks will be dealing with a large number of bad loans.”
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