Real estate crisis jeopardises China’s economic rebound

A turbulent year in China’s real estate sector has created unease in the domestic market. Kimberley Long reports on how the banking sector has been shielded from the worst of the crisis, but wider problems for the economy remain.

by Kimberley Long

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Real estate crisis jeopardises China’s economic rebound

China’s property sector hit international headlines during 2021 for all the wrong reasons. Evergrande, China’s second largest property developer, missed multiple debt payments. A Global 500 company, Evergrande employs 200,000 staff and in 2020 the company had a total asset value of Rmb2.3tn ($342.58bn).

While primarily a property developer, the company has expanded across industry sectors, including operating 15 amusement parks across China and owning Guangzhou football club and an associated football school. It is believed these wide-ranging concerns, and the level of debt needed to support all areas of the company’s operations, are what led towards the financial problems.

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Kimberley Long

Kimberley Long is the Asia editor at The Banker. She joined from Euromoney, where she spent four years as transaction services editor. She has a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Liverpool, and an MA in Print Journalism from the University of Sheffield. Between degrees she spent a year teaching English in Japan as part of the JET Programme.

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