The company logo adorns the side of the BHP gobal headquarters in Melbourne on February 21, 2023. – The Australian multinational, a leading producer of metallurgical coal, iron ore, nickel, copper and potash, said net profit slumped 32 percent year-on-year to 6.46 billion US dollars in the six months to December 31. (Photo by William WEST \/ AFP) (Photo by WILLIAM WEST\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
William West | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
BHP<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span> CEO Mike Henry said he expects China’s property sector to rebound in the upcoming year on the back of favorable government policies. <\/p>\n While acknowledging that the country’s property sector is a “weak point” for steel demand, Henry is optimistic about the suite of measures the Chinese government has announced recently.<\/p>\n “The government has enacted policies recently that are meant to support the property sector\u2026 We expect that we could see a turnaround in the property sector in the year ahead,” Henry said.<\/p>\n In recent months, China has rolled out a slew of measures aimed at stabilizing the country’s property sector, which once purportedly accounted for about 25% to 30% of the country’s GDP<\/a>. For example, Beijing scrapped the nationwide minimum mortgage interest rate<\/a> and reduced the minimum down payment ratio for first-time buyers to 15%, compared to 20% previously.<\/p>\n In May, the central bank also announced it would allocate 300 billion yuan<\/a> ($42.25 billion) to financial institutions to lend to local state-owned enterprises for purchasing unsold apartments that have already been completed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/img><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n On Saturday, China’s minister of housing Ni Hong said that there is still “great potential and room” for China’s property sector<\/a> to expand as the country continues to urbanize and demand for good housing continues to grow.<\/p>\n