China's huge malls, high prices and few shoppers

Beijing - For a closer look at China's sizzling economy, walk the marble floors of Beijing's latest luxury mall. From its Japanese-style food court selling $4 chocolate éclairs to its glittering floors of branded international fashion, Shin Kong Place is a palace of conspicuous consumption. Since 2002, China has built hundreds of malls in towns and cities, each trying to get a slice of a retail pie worth $800 billion last year. Captivated by the promise of a vast consumer class itching to spend, foreign brands have jostled for space at the table only to find a scarcity of customers. As a result, retail vacancy rates in Beijing are currently 8 percent and rising as more malls enter a crowded market.

Macquarie looks to Chinese real estate market

BEIJING: Macquarie Group, the biggest Australian securities firm, is seeking to develop real estate trusts in China, even though financial markets are being roiled by a credit crunch and China is clamping down on property speculators. Macquarie is in talks with regulators and institutional investors including insurers and pension funds to help build a market in China, Andrew Low, head of corporate finance in Asia, said Wednesday in Beijing. The discussions are "nearing fruition," he said without elaborating.

China's Nanjing Suning Real Estate buys Shanghai land for 4.4 bln yuan

China's Nanjing Suning Real Estate Development Co has outbid rivals from Hong Kong and the United States in a land auction in Shanghai, and bought a 66,930-square-meter tract of land in the Huangpu district for 4.404 bln yuan, the official Shanghai Securities News reported.

China arrests online activist for organizing real estate price rally

BEIJING: Chinese police have jailed a man for 14 days after he posted messages to chat rooms calling for a gathering of people angry over high real estate prices, state media and a rights group said Friday. The move appeared to be part of efforts to ratchet up already tight media and Internet controls ahead of a sensitive political congress expected in October. The Communist Party congress, held every five years, will set the agenda for the party and country for the next half-decade, and will likely include a reshuffling of some top leaders. It will also mark a renewal of party leader Hu Jintao's five-year tenure.