China Cracking Down on Rumor-Mongering in Property Market
- Part of government efforts to cool recent surge in prices
- Rumors and ‘malicious’ advertisements are disrupting market
Residential towers are reflected in a river in Beijing, China.
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
China is intensifying a crackdown on property developers and others who spread rumors intended to push up prices, part of government efforts to head off a housing bubble.
China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development on Wednesday ordered local regulators to intensify probes into rumor-mongering and “malicious” advertisements which play up rising home prices, saying it was disrupting the market, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.