(Yicai Global) Nov. 14 -- Shares of Chinese property developers such as Country Garden and Agile Group surged after it emerged that China plans to introduce new policies to boost financial support to the nation’s stricken real estate sector.

With 79 of the 108 real estate stocks closing higher today, Country Garden [HKG: 3383] jumped almost 46 percent to HKD3.26 (42 US cents), after earlier skyrocketing 55 percent, while Agile [HKG: 2007] finished up 34 percent at HKD3.04 a share.

A screenshot of a notice believed to be from the People's Bank of China and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission circulated online yesterday. Although the notice has yet to be officially published, sources confirmed to Yicai Global that it was genuine.

In the notice, the financial regulators set out 16 measures to shore up the property sector, including more financial support from financial institutions, backing for the reasonable rollover of developers’ debts, steps to defuse the risks from distressed property firms, and greater support for the home rental market.

The measures represent the most wide-ranging support for developers this year and are set to play a relatively positive role in steadying the market, Ming Ming, chief economist at Citic Securities, told Yicai Global.

The measures range over the short- to long-term and will ease market nerves, according to Lian Ping, chief economist at Zhixin Investment and president of Zhixin Investment Research Institute, while confidence among homebuyers is expected to return and the market will likely bottom out by year-end.

Privately held and mixed-ownership developers will get more credit support based on the principle which appeared in the notice of treating state-owned and private builders equally, Ming pointed out.

Private developers that are focused on their main business and have good credit will get more loan support, and reasonable lending is expected for high-quality projects undertaken by at-risk developers, said Chen Wenjing, a market research director at China Index Academy. That will alleviate the liquidity problems faced by private firms, he added.

With the reasonable rollover of outstanding debts, developers are set to see continuous improvement in funding conditions, Lian said.

The notice also encourages financial institutions such as trust companies to support the reasonable financing needs of developers and projects, and support policy banks like the China Development Bank and the Agricultural Development Bank to issue special loans to guarantee homes are completed, which will help to underpin property sales in turn.

Commercial banks and asset managers are also encouraged to support mergers of high-quality developers and acquisitions of struggling peers and their projects to alleviate risks, with increased financial support for the rental housing sector.

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Futura Costaglione