The government may launch measures targeting some key cities

Expectations are that there will be more restraining policies on the property sector over the next half-year due to spiraling property prices and investment despite government efforts to rein in the sector. Although implementation of policies adopted last year remains the focus of 2007, soaring property prices could continue to pose a risk in the next six months, raising the possibility that further cooling measures could be on the horizon, said Zhu Zhongyi, secretary-general of the China Real Estate Association. "The government may launch measures targeting some key cities if property markets there get out of control. Or it could release uniform policies covering the entire country," Zhu told China Daily.

Shanghai Property Back in Vogue

A government clampdown on construction of luxury apartments is combining with loose enforcement of limits on property investment by foreigners to send Shanghai property prices sharply higher after two years of stagnancy. The Shanghai government increased the tax on property sales in early 2005, following nearly three years in which hot money, looking to benefit from China's booming economic growth and a then-anticipated increase in the value of the yuan, poured into the luxury real-estate market. The stream of funds caused the price of some luxury apartments to soar. Since the tax increase was implemented, such prices have barely kept pace with inflation.

Housing prices up 7.1% in 70 China cities

China's property boom received another booster as housing prices surged 7.1% in 70 major cities in June year-on-year, with Shenzhen leading the strong growth. Shenzhen's property prices skyrocketed 15.9% in June as second-homes saw an increase of 16.1% whilst new property prices rose slightly lower at 13.9%, according to the report by the National Development.

Interest rate hike impacts China´s financial and property markets

China's central bank increased the interest rate last week, for the third time in the first half of this year. It also slashed withholding tax on interest income to 5 percent from 20 percent. How the actions will impact both the real estate sector and the insurance industry.Yin Zhongli, deputy director of Research Center of Financial Markets, CASS said: "The interest rate appreciation will increase the cost to people of property purchases, so it can help prevent speculation in real estate. Meanwhile, a lowering of the interest tax rate will enable consumers to keep their deposits in the banks."

China's property investment up 28.5% in first half

China's real estate investment soared 28.5 percent from a year earlier to 988.7 billion yuan (130.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2007, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Friday. The growth was 1.6 percentage points higher than the first quarter and 4.3 percentage points higher than the same period last year, according to the NBS.

China A Crystal Meth Mania ?

The Chinese are wild-men, building roads, bridges, factories and real estate projects at a frenzied pace. The government struggles to manage China's economic rocket while onlookers yell, "Slow it down!" But nobody seems to know how… and maybe they don't really want to. After all, who wants to bum out a perfectly good economic-growth-buzz?

Glitnir Bank Enters First Real Estate Venture in China

Nordic bank Glitnir signed a joint venture with Sinopec‘s CGCOC (CGC Overseas Construction Co. Ltd) on June 5th to develop a residential area in Shenyang city in north-eastern China. The residential site covers 230,000 square metres, of which 85% will be earmarked for housing and the rest for commercial units. The development is scheduled to be completed within two years and is one of the largest residential projects in Shenyang to date.

China Holdings Inc. Announces Joint Venture with Aroma Petroleum

China Holdings, Inc. , a development stage company with the goal of becoming a leading diversified global asset holding company and engaged in multiple China-focused business activities including pharmaceutical, real estate, utilities, energy and finance, today announced that the Company has executed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Aroma International Petroleum (HK) Co, Ltd. for a 50%/50% joint venture investment partnership

China's property investment grows 27.5% in 1st 5 months

Of the total, 504.2 billion yuan was poured into residential property, up 29.5 percent, of which 20.8 billion yuan was injected into low-cost home construction, up 39.4 percent. In the first five months, China's developers registered 1.21 trillion yuan of investment capital, up 26.2 percent from the same period last year, of which foreign investment reached 22.2 billion yuan, up 89.9 percent, the NBS said without elaborating.

China Property: Guangzhou to auction off more land for housing

The city government of Guangzhou will auction off nine plots of land later this month and early next month to be used for residential development. The move follows the auctioning off of nine other plots in June. Guangzhou Mayor Zhang Guangning said yesterday that the city government will work to rein in surging housing prices and build more "economical houses" for the city's extremely poor families by the end of this year.

China Real Estate Opportunities (CREO) began trading on London

The Jersey-incorporated firm, which is targeting investment and development opportunities throughout China's rapidly growing cities and the Bejing Olympic zone, began trading with an initial market capitalisation of 398 million pounds.

"The board believes that the Chinese real estate market holds very significant opportunities", Chairman Ray Horney said in a statement. "CREO is committed to taking advantage of these conditions", he added.

China's Real Estate E-House files for $150 mln U.S. IPO

E-House (China) Holdings Ltd., a real estate services company in China, filed with U.S. regulators on Tuesday to raise up to $150 million in an initial public offering of American depositary shares. Credit Suisse and Merrill Lynch & Co. are underwriting the IPO, according to a preliminary filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

China Higher and Mightier

China is putting its surplus billions to work, in what is effectively the official state hedge fund. Beijing is set to inject some $200 billion into a new sovereign-wealth fund for investment abroad in assets including stocks, real estate and commodities—anything that earns the government greater returns than the money its central bank has parked in U.S. Treasury bills. And that's just the opening gambit. Stephen Green, chief economist for Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai, expects China to channel an additional $100 billion or more into the fund in 2008, with further infusions if all goes well in year one. Initially, he says, in-house fund managers will tread softly. "[But] once they feel they have the hang of it, they'll get more adventurous. At this point it's toes in the water."

Hong Kong Real Estate Firm Ponders Buyout

Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd. has confirmed that it is in discussions with entities that are interested in acquiring the Hong Kong-based real estate company. No firm offers have yet been made for Chinese Estates, which has a total market capitalization of approximately U.S.$4.2 billion.

China real estate conditions dissatisfying public

With an aim of enforcing social supervision and management in the commercial residential building market, reflecting consumers' opinions, the China Consumer Association recently carried out a survey on the degree of consumers' satisfaction about their commercial houses, within 218 common residential areas and buildings in 12 cities.

H&Q to finance Hilton Hotels in China

RREEF, the alternative asset management arm of Deutsche Bank, has formed a joint venture with private-equity group H&Q Capital to bring the Hilton brand into mid-market hotel development in China. Both parties hold a 50% stake in the new JV and will contribute a matching amount of capital that forms the $550 million initial investment fund, which will be used to develop 25 Hilton Garden Inn hotels in over 15 growing cities around the Yangtze River Delta region, including Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. Further developments will be expanded into other areas in China once it has reached a critical mass of customers.

China real estate focus turns to secondary cities

With China's opening up and intensified competition in the key cities, savvy businesses are turning their eyes to the country's second- and third-tier cities, 30 of which have emerged as the best business targets.