CHINA has lifted a ban on equity financing for listed property developers for the first time in four years, a step that could herald less government intervention in the sector and ease funding concerns as credit grows tight and the economy slows.

    Two property developers said last week that they have received regulatory approvals to make private placements of shares, paving the way for more real estate firms to raise funds through the stock market for the first time since 2010.

    Shenzhen-listed Tianjin Tianbao Infrastructure Co. and Shanghai-listed Join.In Holding Co. got the go-ahead to sell yuan-denominated A shares in private placements, the two firms said in separate statements Thursday.

    The approvals come amid growing fears of defaults in the property sector after the collapse of Zhejiang Xingrun Real Estate and will pave the way for more developers to raise capital to alleviate crash crunches.

    Some analysts welcomed the move as an indication that the government is finally ready to scale back some of its intervention in the property market.

    “This is positive,” said Zhu Yiming, a property analyst at CRIC, a unit of real estate services firm E-House China in Shanghai.

    “It shows the government is relying more on increasing home supply to control the market.”

    From outright bans on multiple home purchases to ordering banks to raise mortgage rates and banning some Chinese from buying houses outside their places of birth, China’s government has won both supporters and critics in its four-year battle to cool surging home prices.

    Supporters say the government is doing what is needed to cool an otherwise uncontrollable market, while critics oppose the heavy government interference.

    The money raised by Tianjin Tianbao would be invested in residential homes in Tianjin while Join.In would invest in a commercial and residential project in Xuzhou in Anhui Province, the firms said.

    China stopped developers from raising money by selling shares in April 2010 on concerns that surging home prices were inflating an asset bubble. (SD-Agencies)