China Land Sales Income Hits Decade Low, Widening Budget Deficit

China’s revenue from selling land plunged to the lowest in a decade, contributing to the widening of budget deficit as the government ramped up spending in support of the economy.

Land sales revenue slumped 14.6% on year to 194.1 billion yuan ($27 billion) last month, the lowest since May 2015. The figure, based on Bloomberg calculations from Ministry of Finance data released Friday, reversed a 4.3% growth in April, which had been the first increase in three months.