(Yicai) Jan. 30 -- The financing white list, or approved list, that Chinese authorities are preparing to release will target individual real estate developments, and not specific companies as had been rumored, Yicai has learned.

All local governments should put the emphasis on real estate projects, carry out thorough research in order to submit a list of projects eligible for financial support, co-ordinate with financial institutions to issue loans and effectively support reasonable financing needs, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said at a meeting held on Jan. 26.

Back in November last year, Bloomberg reported that China is launching a financing white list for real estate companies to further support the flagging property sector. At the time, the news caused widespread concern in the market, but no such list has been released yet.

The first batch of approved projects is likely to be issued soon and loans could be applied for as early as the end of the month, the ministry said.

This move will better support development projects but also shows that the focus is still on ensuring the delivery of properties and that financing funds are not misappropriated, a state-owned real estate company told Yicai.

And many developers are being swift to respond. “We are collecting documentation about our development project, contacting government housing departments around the country, and preparing to submit our application,” a person in charge of a real estate project in East China said.

One struggling developer in southern China believes it will be difficult for its projects to be chosen in the first white list due to its record of defaulting on debt, but it is busy preparing materials on other projects in case of other opportunities.

Last year China rolled out a series of measures to help developers raise financing. But many real estate firms are still having trouble fundraising and are skeptical about how new policies will be implemented.

The white list will most likely be dominated by projects run by government-controlled urban investment companies, and banks will still be very cautious about lending to private developers, a source at a real estate company said.

Editor: Kim Taylor