Narrative thread · 1 event
Beijing is drafting rules for residential land leases as the first ones run out, with billions in property value hanging on the outcome, while Hong Kong's courts and landlords work through the fallout from the mainland slump.
Land in China belongs to the state and is leased to buyers for fixed terms, so flats sit on contracts that eventually expire. After years of falling sales and developer defaults, the biggest of them Evergrande, regulators, courts and property firms are still sorting out who owns what and who pays. Hong Kong's market is caught up in it.
Bloomberg reports that Beijing is working on a framework for residential land leases that are starting to run out, with about $148 billion in property value at stake. In Hong Kong, a court ruled that Evergrande may recover about HK$6 billion from a third party, while the developer Wharf said it is leaning on the city's luxury-home market to offset weakness on the mainland.