Briefly

Secondary housing market heats up in Q1

China's secondary housing market started to recover in the first quarter amid loosening credit and regulatory policies, according to a report by the Beike Research Institute. In the first quarter, sales of previously owned homes in 50 cities rose by nearly 7 percent from the previous quarter, while sales in March saw a month-on-month increase of more than 40 percent, according to the report. The market recovery has been uneven with the Yangtze River Delta region seeing stronger growth momentum, the report noted, attributing the improvements to falling mortgage rates and supportive policies from local governments.

Listed banks improve asset quality in 2021

China's listed banks saw their bad loan ratio decline in 2021 amid enhanced efforts to fend off financial risks. All six State-owned commercial banks reported a decrease in their nonperforming loan ratio at the end of 2021 from a year earlier. The figures all fall within 1.5 percent, with the lowest at 0.82 percent recorded by Postal Savings Bank of China. Two listed joint-stock banks, China Citic Bank and China Everbright Bank, posted a decline in both the outstanding value and ratio of their non-performing loans.

Xinhua