Shares of property firms sank into a sea of red Thursday as China steps up its crackdown on gambling by its citizens offshore, threatening what has been a major growth driver of the Philippine real estate market.

Shares of property firms sank into a sea of red Thursday as China steps up its crackdown on gambling by its citizens offshore, threatening what has been a major growth driver of the Philippine real estate market.

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The Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 38.08 points or 0.48 percent to close at 7,848.83, weighed down down most by the property counter, which fell 1.78 percent.

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Tycoon Andrew Tan’s Megaworld Corp. led the decliners, falling 8.5 percent to P4.84 per share. The company boasts of being the largest landlord of office spaces in the country. Traditional offices (corporations and regional operations headquarters offices and Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) comprise 15 percent of Megaworld’s office portfolio.

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Robinsons Land Corp., the property arm of the Gokongwei family, dived 2.6 percent to P24.05 while integrated property developer SM Investments Corp., which has limited exposure to POGOs, slipped 1.96 percent to P35.

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Property giant Ayala Land declined 35 centavos to P49.15. Around 9 percent o ALI’s gross leasable portfolio is leased to POGOs while seven percent of its residential sales come from Chinese nationals.

Jittery investors pulled their money out after Pagcor announced it would no longer issue new offshore gaming licenses until all these issues have been addressed. The Philippines currently has 58 POGOs.

But Beijing wants the Philippines to ban online gambling by its citizens which has resulted in crimes and social problems in China.