New bank lending in China rose less than expected in December, but 2023 lending hit a new record as the central bank kept policy accommodative to support an unexpectedly shaky economic recovery, Reuters reported. Chinese banks extended 1.17 trillion yuan ($163.31 billion) in new yuan loans in December, up from November but falling short of analysts' expectations, according to data released by the People's Bank of China on Friday.

China Aoyuan Group Ltd. is standing by for a pivotal Hong Kong court decision this week on its restructuring plan, a ruling that may accelerate the end of its tussles with creditors over $6 billion of offshore debt, Bloomberg News reported. After a two-day trial over a creditor’s objection to the offshore plan offered by the defaulted developer ended earlier this week, Judge Jonathan Harris said he will deliver his decision on Thursday.

China’s central bank signaled that it’s prepared to keep policy loose by lowering the amount of money banks must keep in reserve, reinforcing expectations among investors of more easing to come, Bloomberg News reported. The People’s Bank of China will use a variety of tools to provide “strong support” for a reasonable growth in credit, said Zou Lan, head of the central bank’s monetary policy department, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency late Monday.

A subsidiary of Chinese developer Xinyuan Real Estate Co Ltd. has filed for chapter 11 protection in the Southern district of New York court, according to a court filing, Bloomberg News reported. Hudson 888 Owner LLC, whose business is “single asset real estate,” filed the petition, according to the court document dated Sunday. Its estimated liabilities and assets are both within the range of $100 million to $500 million, the filing shows. Hudson 888 Owner is a US unit of Xinyuan, according to a document on the SEC website.

Chinese leaders pushed for an unusually speedy resolution for Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co. after the shadow banking giant collapsed, underscoring the government’s increased focus on containing financial risks as the economy struggles, Bloomberg News reported.

Chinese regulators have closed a regulatory loophole that last year allowed heavily indebted local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) to further increase their borrowing, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. LGFVs, set up by Chinese local governments to fund infrastructure investment, have been told to stop issuing offshore bonds with a 364-day duration, the sources said.

A top executive at China Evergrande's electric-vehicle business has been detained as part of a criminal investigation, adding to Evergrande’s mounting problems, the Wall Street Journal reported. China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle said on Monday that Liu Yongzhuo, an executive director and the president of its automobile business, was being held by authorities “on suspicion of illegal crimes.” It didn’t provide details or say when he was detained. Liu attended a company event in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin on Dec.

China's State Council issued guidelines on improving an operating budget system for state-owned capital, according to a statement on the government website on Saturday, Reuters reported. The government will expand coverage of the budget system and optimise a mechanism for state-owned companies to hand over their profits, among a series of measures seeking to improve the capital efficiency and support growth of state-owned assets, it said. Read more.

China's local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) are repaying their bonds early at the fastest pace since 2018, taking advantage of a Beijing-backed debt swap programme aimed at slashing localities' borrowing costs, Reuters reported. The redemptions have jumped since October, when Beijing allowed local governments to issue special refinancing bonds, estimated to be worth over 1 trillion yuan ($139.85 billion), which could replace their higher-yielding LGFV debt.