(Yicai Global) July 14 -- Property developer Country Garden Holdings, television set maker TCL and 10 other privately owned Chinese companies were asked for their views on how to improve support for bonds and other funding options at a symposium convened by the country’s financial regulators today.

The attendees, which also included animal husbandry and food firm New Hope Group, property developer Seazen Holdings, trading company Hongdou Group and machinery maker Sany Heavy Industry, explained the challenges faced by China’s private sector and made suggestions on how fundraising by private firms could be enhanced, said the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors, which convened the meeting with the People's Bank of China.

Xinhu Zhongbao issued CNY700 million (USD98.1 million)-worth of three-year notes at an interest rate of 4.25 percent yesterday, the Hangzhou-based developer said. The proceeds will be used to build residential property projects, to pay back offshore US dollar-denominated bonds and to boost liquidity. It is the firm’s first successful sale of onshore bonds in the last two years.

The meeting follows the recent extension of policies introduced last November by the PBOC and National Administration of Financial Regulation to support the real estate industry until 2024. These include supporting the reasonable rollover of development loans and other existing loans and encouraging financial institutes to provide more financial support to cash-strapped property developers to allow them to finish building and deliver pre-sold homes.

The NAFMII will increase the quality and efficiency of debt financing instruments to increase support for key areas and further facilitate bond issues by private firms, it said at the end of last month. The association also required lenders to make better use of credit risk mitigation certificates, credit-linked notes, secured credit enhancement and other kinds of tools to provide more financing support to eligible private firms.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Kim Taylor