Published Tue, Jul 15, 2025 · 07:24 AM

[LONDON] China Vanke said its loss for the first half of 2025 could reach as high as US$1.67 billion, underscoring the lingering problems in the nation’s property market.

Vanke reported a preliminary net loss for the period of 10 billion yuan to 12 billion yuan, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday (Jul 14). The estimated loss widened from 9.9 billion yuan for the same period last year. Sales revenue was 69.1 billion yuan.

The loss partly stemmed from a significant decline in the scale of its real estate project settlements, while gross profit margins remained at a low level, Vanke said. The developer also cited additional provisions for asset impairment.  

“The company deeply apologises for the performance loss and will continue to make every effort to promote business improvement,” Vanke said.

China’s property sector is mired in a protracted slump. Over the past four years, a number of major developers have defaulted on their debt as government crackdowns and faltering home-buyer sentiment have weighed on their businesses.

Officials have taken a number of steps to revive the sector, but these have so far had only modest success. Home sales extended their slump in June, spurring calls for fresh stimulus.

Vanke, known across the country for building homes in China’s largest cities, had been struggling financially with debt repayments as home sales tanked. In early 2025, the local government of Shenzhen stepped in to take management control of Vanke and vowed to “proactively support” its operations. Its state-backed shareholder, Shenzhen Metro Group, has been providing financing since February to support the troubled builder.  

Excluding shareholders’ loans, Vanke had secured 24.9 billion yuan in new financing and refinancing during the first half of 2025, and had successfully completed the repayment of 16.5 billion yuan in public debt. No offshore public debt is due before 2027, it said. BLOOMBERG

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