China less likely to release property tightening measures – and more of Today’s China Real Estate Links | June 21, 2013

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

• China less likely to release property tightening measures

  The government is not likely to release new tightening policies in the short-term to curb property prices, JP Morgan’s chief China economist Zhu Haibin said Wednesday.

  He said that given the faltering economic recovery and varied regional conditions, the possibility for the central government to release new tightening policies targeting the property market remains low.

  It is more likely that local governments will work out their own property policies, with adjustments related to limited property sales and mortgage rates in cities with rising house prices, he added.

• Chinese Investors Now Have Easier Way to Tap U.S. Property Market

  Chinese fund managers are giving local investors a chance to cash in on the U.S.’s recovering property market without any of the regulatory headaches that come with trying to buy a home abroad.

  Guangzhou-based GF Fund Management Co. is launching two funds—one denominated in dollars, the other in yuan—that will buy shares in the 120 real-estate investment trusts tracked by the MSCI U.S. REIT Index, which is seen as a proxy for the U.S. real-estate market.

• Prudential Financial Hires Grosvenor’s Su for Asia Real Estate

  Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) hired Eryck Su as managing director and chief investment officer of its Asia-Pacific real estate business as the second-largest U.S. life insurer pursues deals in China.

  Su joins Prudential Real Estate Investors from Grosvenor Fund Management, the Newark, New Jersey-based insurer said in a statement yesterday. Su will lead PREI’s strategy in China and oversee regional acquisitions and dispositions while helping with portfolio management. He’ll be based in Hong Kong.

• China Home Prices Jumped in May

  Housing prices in China’s biggest cities last month registered their highest annual growth rate in more than two years, which could increase pressure on a number of cities to better enforce the central government’s property-cooling measures.

  May’s rise is the latest in a strong year for the property market despite efforts by the government to curb prices. While a robust real-estate market could contribute to growth as China’s economy slows, Beijing worries that pricier housing could lead to social unrest.”

• Taiwan bookstore chain Eslite expands to the mainland with Shanghai store

  Eslite Spectrum Corp., the operator of Taiwan’s leading book chain Eslite Bookstore, announced Wednesday that it would establish a foothold in Shanghai by 2015.

  Eslite signed a letter of intent with the developer of the Shanghai Tower, a 121-story, 632-meter skyscraper, to lease 6,500 square-meters of space in the building, which is expected to open in 2015.

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