Chinese property developers to see improved credit metrics: Report

BEIJING - The credit metrics of a majority of Chinese property developers will continue to improve over the next 12-18 months, according to a report from global ratings agency Moody's.

Of 62 developers rated by Moody's, 40 saw their credit metrics improve slightly in 2018, and the trend will continue in the coming months, bolstered by disciplined spending on land, the report said.

"Many large and mid-size developers have lowered their sales growth targets for 2019, which will reduce their need to make debt-funded land purchases," said Cedric Lai, a Moody's vice president and senior analyst.

The 40 companies' ratio of weighted-average revenue to adjusted debt will increase to 73 percent in 2019 from 63 percent in 2018, according to the report.

The improvement will come even as developers' sales growth slows and profit margins contract.

China's property sector has cooled in recent years after runaway home prices fueled speculation and triggered government curbs aimed at preventing asset bubbles.

Earlier this month, a meeting held by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee reiterated that the country should stick to the principle that "housing is for living in, not speculation."