戴德梁行：今日全球楼市速览(2010.05.20)

3. China’s state-owned enterprises posted a 69.6% annual surge in profits in the 1st 4 months of this year, the Ministry of Finance said. The combined profits of China's SOEs hit RMB579.52bn from Jan to April, the Ministry said. Operating revenue of the SOEs reached about RMB9 trillion, up 46% from a year earlier. (Shanghai Daily).

4. Major indices of China's large ports mostly pointed to a better performance in April with increasing cargo throughput and exports volume, the Ministry of Transport said. China's large sea ports and river ports saw rapid throughput growth in cargo, exported goods volume and containers from Jan to April. Passenger throughput via large ports, however, fell 18.5% from a year earlier to 295 million in the 1st 4 months of the year, the Ministry said. Large ports are classified in China as sea ports with an annual cargo throughput above 15 million tons and above 10 million tons for river ports. (Shanghai Daily).

5. Lloyd’s of London – has gained regulatory approval to start a direct insurance business in China as it sees plenty of opportunities, its chairman said in Shanghai. Lloyd's will start its direct insurance in the property and casualty sectors in Shanghai. Direct insurance offers financial protection for policy holders. Lloyd’s said it's unnecessary for the company to expand geographically in China as it can write policies nationwide as long as a single policy is more than US$60,000. Lloyd’s said it sees plenty of opportunities in China for its direct insurance business and although the company's business in China is relatively small now, it is set to grow into a major one in Asia. Asia now accounts for 7% of Lloyd's global business and the firm hopes the share will rise to 15% in a decade. (Shanghai Daily).

6. China may launch a property tax trial in some cities later this year to stop speculation in the housing market, a property industry group said yesterday. "It's quite possible that the government will make its first step in launching a property tax later this year," said Nie Meisheng, president of the semi-official China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce. "It's a good way to test the waters and see what kind of reaction people will have before moving on." Rumours of a property tax have been one factor pushing down property stocks on the mainland and Hong Kong over the past few months. So far, the tax is most likely to be introduced in Shanghai and Chongqing, officials and analysts said. Chongqing had already submitted plans to the State Council for approval, a local tax official said. In Shanghai, the local government is considering imposing a property tax of 0.6 per cent of the value of the property for owners of apartments above a certain size and who have lived in the city for at least three years, instead of the 0.8 per cent reported previously, according to market sources. The number of property deals has fallen by an annual 80 to 90 per cent in first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai in the first half of May due to the policies announced in April, property companies say. (SCMP).

Hong Kong

1. A Fan Ling site that will be auctioned on Monday is expected to fetch up to HK$1.45 billion. Four surveyors polled by The Standard valued the 95,800-square-foot site at the junction of Ma Sik Road and Sha Tau Kok Road at HK$1.32 billion to HK$1.45 billion. The surveyors each lowered their forecasts by 8.4 to 27.5 percent following the below-par price for a Tung Chung site that went on the block earlier this month. But they noted that, unlike the Tung Chung sale, smaller developers may join the bidding as the price is not huge. (The Standard).