China’s State Developers Warn of Major Losses as Crisis Spreads

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Buildings under construction Wednesday at the Legend of Sea project, co-developed by Country Garden and Jiangsu Zhongnan Construction Industry Group, in Ningbo, East China’s Zhejiang province. Photo: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — China’s state-owned property developers are warning of widespread losses, fueling concerns that the housing crisis is expanding from the private sector to companies with government backing.

Eighteen out of 38 state-owned enterprise (SOE) builders listed in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland reported preliminary losses in the six months ended June 30, up from 11 that warned of full-year losses in 2022, according to a Bloomberg tally based on corporate filings. Two years ago, only four firms with controlling or major state shareholdings posted losses.