133,000 Sqm Outlet Mall Planned to Open Near Shanghai Disneyland – and more of Today’s China Real Estate Links | June 19, 2013

Here is a list of the day’s latest China real estate news collected from around the web:

• 133,000 Sqm Outlet Mall Planned to Open Near Shanghai Disneyland

  SHANGHAI’S biggest outlet mall will open in the Pudong New Area on May 1st next year, the Pudong government announced yesterday.

  The planned shopping center will cover 133,000 square meters, or the size of more than 15 football fields. It will be located beside the future Shanghai Disneyland as well as close to the Pudong International Airport.

  Visitors will be able to take Metro Line 2 to get to the mall at the Yuandong Avenue Station.

  The outlet mall is expected to generate 2 billion yuan (US$326.7 million) in sales per year with some 7.3 million visitors are expected to visit Shanghai Disneyland after it opens in 2015.

• China May home prices rise as major cities post record gains

  China’s new home prices rose in almost all cities in May, led by major centers, as the government’s latest property measures failed to deter buyers.
  Prices climbed from a year earlier in 69 of the 70 cities tracked by the government, the most since August 2011, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement on Tuesday. The southern business city of Guangzhou posted the biggest gain with prices rising 15% from a year earlier. Beijing prices climbed 12%, while they advanced 10% in Shanghai. All three cities had their biggest increase since the government changed its methodology for the data in January 2011.

• Survey Says: China is Number Destination for Retailers in 2013

  China once again leads the A.T. Kearney Retail Apparel Index. TheApparel Index also includes a number of countries from Latin Americaand the Middle East showing that these regions continue to offercompelling opportunities.

  The Retail Apparel Index identifies the top 10 developing countriesranked in the A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index in termsof market attractiveness, retail development, and country risk fortheir clothing retail industries. Michael Moriarty, A.T. Kearneypartner and co-author of the study commented, “Since the last RetailApparel Index in 2011, Western apparel retailers have increasinglylooked for growth from developing markets, where apparel spendingremains strong as disposable incomes rise. E-commerce has alsodeveloped significantly for both local and international players.”

• Government real estate tracking system stalled by official resistance

  China’s nationwide housing information network project, which enables policymakers to find out the number of properties owned by individuals, is not moving forward although its deadline for including information from 500 cities is approaching, the Securities Daily reported Monday.

  Qi Ji, vice-minister at the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD), said in the two sessions earlier this year that the housing information network for 500 cities would be finished by the end of June.

  However, according to the report, the network’s expansion has been stagnant since MOHURD completed the networks for 40 major cities in June of 2012.

• Fashion brand Façonnable to open first store in China

  China, here we come – Façonnable continues full-steam ahead with its retail rollout in strategic markets, this time with its first store in Mainland China, in the bustling metropolis of Shanghai.

  The new outpost is housed inside Takashimaya, a spanking-new top-level department store that mixes tradition with innovation and is located in the Changning New Landmark area at the prime Gubei.

  The Façonnable boutique sits on the ground floor next to a flurry of global luxury brands including Armani Collezioni, Corneliani, Gianni Versace, Dolce&Gabbana, Carolina Herrera and Gianfranco Ferré.

• Credit Crunch Looms for China

  China’s credit boom could well be unprecedented, even in an era of massive debt binges. And day by day, it’s looking ever more vulnerable.

  China re-ignited growth in the wake of the financial crisis by pumping vast amounts of credit into the economy through its banking system. This worked to get China growing again as the rest of the world ground to a halt. But it also set up some longer-term problems.

• Wal-Mart to close Kunshan store

  US retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc is reportedly scheduled to close a store in Kunshan, East China’s Jiangsu Province in the end of June.

  The company closed three stores in China in April: one in Shanghai, one in Shenzhen, and one in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.

  Staff members of the store said it has been losing money since opening in 2008, the China Business Herald reported.

This list is updated daily, so tune in again tomorrow for more up to date information.