China's Premier Wen plans further action on housing prices

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Premier Wen Jiabao pledged additional measures Friday to curb speculation in the nation's housing market, signaling tighter lending to the sector, targeted taxes, and stricter enforcement real-estate laws.

"We will rein in speculative housing purchases by intensifying the implementation of differentiated credit and tax policies," Wen said in his report to the annual National People's Congress in Beijing.

He said the government would improve management of land to prevent "land prices from rising too fast," along with "greater efforts" to tackle illegal land hoarding and property-price manipulation.