China Local Govts See 49.4% Rise in Land Sale Revenue – and more of Today’s China Real Estate Links | September 3, 2013

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

• China Local Govts See 49.4% Rise in Land Sale Revenue

  China’s local governments made total revenue of 2.02 trillion yuan ($330 billion) from selling State-owned land from January to July this year, marking a 49.4 percent year-on-year increase, Beijing Daily reported Sunday citing the Ministry of Land and Resources.

  The dramatic surge was the result of an increase in land supply, a more robust real estate market and a spike in land prices, the report said, citing Lou Jiwei, the minister of finance.

  Lou said a low base of comparison was another factor, as local governments made 1.35 trillion yuan in land sales revenue from January to July last year, down 27.1 percent from 2011.

  Zhu Lixu, an analyst with Xiangcai Securities, told the Global Times Sunday that although selling land helps local governments deal with their rising debts from spending on infrastructure construction, it is not a sustainable strategy.

• China Home Price Hikes Accelerate for 2nd Straight Month

  China’s property inflation quickened in August for a second straight month, two private surveys showed, underlining strong momentum due to a recovery in land prices and complicating the government’s efforts to prevent a property bubble.

  Home prices in 288 major cities rose 1.1 percent in August from July, accelerating from July’s monthly increase of 0.8 percent, a poll by a real estate services company E-House China showed.

  From a year earlier, home prices jumped 11 percent in August, unchanged from July’s annual gains, E-House said.

• Wanda’s Wang Jianlin Seeks IPO for U.S. Theatre Chain

  Wang Jianlin, the billionaire chairman of China’s Dalian Wanda Group, isn’t a man that likes to think small. So it’s not much of a surprise that he is moving quickly on a new step for the big U.S. theatre chain he bought last year in a deal worth $2.6 billion.
  According to a U.S. SEC filing on Friday, Wang’s AMC Entertainment Holdings plans to raise $400 million in an IPO. The company didn’t provide any pricing details.
  Wang also runs one of the largest movie theatre chains in China, and the U.S. acquisition comes amid a push by Wanda into the entertainment industry at home. Consulting firm PwC estimates that spending on filmed entertainment will increase by 15% annually during the next five years in China, part of expected growth in domestic demand in a country that is known for its success in exports.

• Ditch the stats: China retailers don’t buy signs of recovery

  If things are really starting to look up for China’s economy, as a recent spate of better-than-expected government data seems to suggest, nobody appears to have told its biggest retailers.

  A Reuters review of first-half earnings showed that more than 20 Chinese companies selling everything from footwear to food were not convinced the economic slowdown had bottomed out, and neither were their traditionally thrifty customers.

  “The reality behind the numbers is gloomier,” said leading footwear retailer Belle International Holdings Ltd as a raft of data, supported by government statements, indicated the world’s second largest economy may be stabilising after two years of slumping growth.

• Forterra Trust secures additional space in Shanghai mall

  Forterra Trust has entered into a 20-year lease for an additional 3,404 sq m of retail space at Huai Hai Mall in Shanghai, its trustee-manager Forterra Real Estate said on Monday.

  This brings the total space at Huai Hai Mall that is under Forterra Trust’s control to 11,024 sq m. Forterra currently owns the floors from the basement to level three of the four-storey mall, which is located in Shanghai’s central business district.

• China insurance funds target Singapore properties: CBRE

  SINGAPORE is China’s 5th-largest overseas destination for real estate investment using Chinese insurance funds, from 2007 – 2013.

  According to the latest research by global property advisor CBRE, Singapore joins other high transparency markets such as the UK, US, Canada and Australia as key global investment targets of Chinese insurance institutions, thanks to the attractive yields high-end office properties in these core cities can produce in today’s low-interest rate environment.

  CBRE estimates a total of US$14.4 billion in Chinese insurance funds available for overseas real estate investment.

• Colliers Sees Dangers in China’s 2nd Tier Cities

  As warnings continue to be sounded about the bubble in China’s housing market, real estate industry insiders are warning of another, but one that few people are aware of.

  That bubble has formed in the market for urban complexes in second and third- tier cities. Urban complexes are modern developments covering large areas that usually bring together residential blocks, offices, shopping malls and entertainment facilities such as cinemas and clubs.

  George Yeung, managing director in North China for Colliers International, said so many urban complexes have sprung up across the country that the market is almost at saturation point. Colliers International, based in Seattle, is one of the four biggest commercial property service companies in the world.

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

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