Jiangsu leads way in move to limit debt risk

The Jiangsu provincial government has decided to take back the authority to approve land transactions from city-level governments starting in October as part of its efforts to control looming debt risks among local governments.

A news release published on Tuesday on the official website of the Jiangsu provincial government indicated that land reserve organizations administered by local governments should truthfully report their debt scales to the provincial finance department.

In addition, "from October 1, local governments cannot decide to sell or stockpile any piece of land without getting approval from the provincial land and resources department", added the news release, citing a guideline issued recently about assessing fundraising scales related to land reserves.