HONG KONG (Reuters) -Property developer China Vanke’s Hong Kong shares firmed on Tuesday following a change of top management that reinforced government support for the company to contain its liquidity risks.
State-backed China Vanke said on Monday that Chairman Yu Liang and CEO Zhu Jiusheng have stepped down, as it forecast a record $6.2 billion net loss for 2024.
Xin Jie, the chairman of its major state-owned shareholder, Shenzhen Metro, will become Vanke’s chairman, pointing to increased state oversight and expectations the government would step in to contain any non-repayment risks as the developer faces several debt maturity deadlines this year.
Its Hong Kong-listed shares were up around 6% as of 0149 GMT, after opening 8.7% higher. China’s stock market is closed on Tuesday for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Worries over Vanke’s liquidity have intensified this month, with the developer struggling to raise funds through the disposal of assets and via bank financing amid a prolonged property market slump.
Vanke is one of the best-known property company names in China with many projects across bigger cities. Investors are seeing Vanke’s problems as an acid test of homebuyer confidence, which has shown signs of stabilising in the past few months. They worry that banks could further shut financing to the sector, squeezing developers that have not defaulted.
(Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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