Khủng hoảng bất động sản Trung Quốc ‘chưa chạm đáy’

-----

The unwavering (vững chắc) belief of Chinese home buyers that real estate (bất động sản) was a can’t-lose investment propelled (thúc đẩy) the country’s property sector (lĩnh vực bất động sản) to become the backbone (xương sống) of its economy.

But over the last two years, as firms (công ty) crumbled (sụp đổ) under the weight of massive debts (nợ nần chồng chất) and sales of new homes plunged (sụt giảm), Chinese consumers have demonstrated (chứng minh) an equally unshakable (không thể lay chuyển) belief: Real estate has become a losing investment.

This sharp (sâu sắc) loss of faith (mất niềm tin) in property (tài sản), the main store of wealth  (nguồn tài sản chính) for many Chinese families, is a growing problem for Chinese policymakers (nhà hoạch định chính sách) who are pulling out all the stops to revive (hồi sinh) the ailing industry (ngành công nghiệp đang suy yếu) — to very little effect. The troubles of the country’s real estate sector were laid bare (lộ rõ) on Monday when a Hong Kong court ordered China Evergrande to wind up operations (ngừng hoạt động) and liquidate (thanh lý, giải thể) the company, which is saddled (gánh nặng) with over $300 billion in debt.

Like the industry it once ruled, Evergrande limped along for two years after defaulting (vỡ nợ, vi ước) on payments (thanh toán) it owed investors. Evergrande, lacking the cash to pay creditors, tried to exude (thể hiện) confidence that its apartments remained a sound investment. The market would surely bounce back, as it had during past downturns (suy thoái).

source: nytimes,