Real estate financier nabbed on fraud charges in Beijing – and more of Today’s China Real Estate Links | August 23, 2012

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

• Real estate financier nabbed on fraud charges in Beijing

  Yu Jinyong, a high-profile Chinese businessman specializing in real estate financing, has been arrested on suspicion of commercial fraud, officials said. Yu, president of the board of China Shidai Investment Holding Group, a real estate investment and developing company, was arrested by the Haidian District People’s Procuratorate on Friday. Zhou Zhicheng, from the district’s prosecuting authority, told China Daily that Yu is alleged to have been involved in a case of contractual fraud.

• CapitaMalls Asia to Expand in China After 40.7 pc Profit Increase

  CapitaMalls Asia said it is staying profitable in China, and expects its second half core earnings to surpass the first. It said it is largely unaffected by economic slowdowns, as it keeps its shopping malls tenanted by basic-needs outlets. CEO of CapitaMalls Asia Lim Beng Chee said: “No matter how bad the economy was, I think basic shopping needs to be done. All our malls in China, you won’t see a Louis Vuitton or a Gucci. It’s all basic brands. So if you look at this, despite all these crisis, I think we are confident that our numbers will be sustainable.”

• Bank of America Lowers E-House China to Underperform

  E-House China (NYSE: EJ) was downgraded by Bank of America to an “underperform” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday. The analysts wrote, “[I]n view of the heightened policy risks (e.g. with the State Council asking local governments to cancel fine tuning policies lately), the risk reward profile of the stock does not look too attractive in our view.

• China’s Stocks Decline on Property Tax Concern

  Chinese stocks fell, dragging down the benchmark index by the most in a week, on speculation the government will expand a property tax and after a Japanese report showed shipments to China declined last month. China Vanke Co. led real-estate companies to the biggest decline among the Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) Index’s industry groups after the Legal Evening News reported Hubei province is proposing property-tax rules.

This list is updated daily, so tune in again tomorrow for more up to date information, or subscribe to our daily email news digest to get this delivered to your mailbox.