戴德梁行：今日全球楼市速览(2010.05.24)

3.  Investment in property development in Shanghai jumped to RMB55.1bn during the Jan-April period. (Shanghai Daily).

4. Trade between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan reached US$44.26bn in the 1st 4 months, up 67.9% on the year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The figure included US$8.52bn of Chinese mainland exports to Taiwan, up 63.8% on the year, and US$35.74bn of mainland imports from the island, an increase of 68.9%, according to a report posted by the Ministry on its website. From Jan to April, the Chinese mainland approved 822 projects with investment from Taiwan, and recorded an inflow of US$720m from Taiwan. The Chinese mainland is Taiwan's largest export market. (Shanghai Daily).

5. HSBC – has gained regulatory approval to open 2 rural banks in China, the lender said. The lender will open 1 bank in Rongchang County, Chongqing, and another in Tianmen, Hubei Province, during the 2nd half of this year. The new banks will increase the lender's total to 9 rural banks. HSBC has the biggest network in the country among foreign-owned banks, covering central, western, eastern, northern and northeastern China. HSBC is taking heed of the Central Government's call to support the rural economy. China plans to increase the number of rural banks by more than 10 times to 1,027 by 2011. The increase will concentrate on counties in central and western China that rely heavily on agriculture as well as areas with low financial coverage, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said last year. China began trials for new types of financial institutions in rural areas in 2006. These include rural banks and rural lending companies. (Shanghai Daily).

6.  Hang Seng Bank (China) Ltd – said that it has agreed to pay RMB510m to buy about 7,000 sq m of office and retail space, together with naming and signage rights, in Shanghai's Lujiazui area in Pudong as its local headquarters. Hang Seng China will own floors 34, 35 and 36 of HSBC Tower as well as a shop unit at ground level, buying the property from affiliate HSBC Bank (China) Co Ltd. The 2 banks are both under the HSBC Group. Conditional upon obtaining the necessary government approvals, the deal is scheduled to be completed by Nov. (Shanghai Daily).

7. Metro AG – will open its 1st consumer electronics outlet in China in Oct as part of its Asia expansion plan to accelerate growth, according to its Chief Executive Officer Eckhard Cordes. China's 1st Media Markt electronics shop will open in Shanghai after the world's 3rd largest retailing group and its Media-Saturn division set up a US$200m JV with China's Foxconn Technology Group. During the next 2 years, another 10 Media Markts are due to open in Shanghai before more than 100 outlets open nationwide by 2015. Introducing Media Markt underscores Metro's beefed up expansion plan this year after the company boasted significant growth from Asia. The group plans to boost investment by a quarter to US$2.34bn this year to fund 100 new stores worldwide. "Internationalisation is one of the focus strategies for our group," said Cordes, "We will put a lot of investment into East Europe and Asia and the biggest chunk will go to China." Besides Media Markt, the group's biggest division, Metro Cash & Carry, which has 44 outlets in China, will open its 50th store by the end of this year. A new smaller-sized grocery store designed for downtown areas will also be launched in Shanghai later this year as a pilot program. The entry of Metro's Media Markt will further intensify competition with Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings Ltd, Suning Appliance Co and Best Buy. The electronics retailers are banking on more affluent Chinese consumers and robust economic growth to grab a bigger slice of the market. Suning, the nation's biggest home appliances retailer, wants to add 200 stores this year to its existing 941 outlets. Gome plans to open 80 new stores. It has 700 now. Best Buy, the world's largest electronics retailer, has opened 6 stores in Shanghai since it entered China in 2006. (Shanghai Daily).