戴德梁行：今日全球楼市速览(2010.06.02)

  Mainland China

  1. China’s manufacturing sector lost some growth momentum in May but was still expanding, 2 surveys showed. The slowdown was largely due to a seasonal effect and tightening policies aiming at controlling the risk of an overheated economy, analysts said. They said the figures still indicated a healthy expansion in manufacturing. The official Purchasing Managers' Index, a comprehensive gauge of industrial activity, moderated 1.8 percentage points from a month earlier to 53.9% in May, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said. A reading above 50 points to expansion and it was the 15th straight month for the index to stay above that line. A survey by HSBC showed that China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index settled at 52.7 last month, down from a revised 55.2 in April. May's reading was the lowest in 11 months. The official PMI is weighted heavily toward big domestic companies; the HSBC survey more toward privately owned and export-oriented firms. (Shanghai Daily).

  2.Multinational firms are expected to increase procurement value by 30% in Shanghai this year, thanks to the recovering economy and their expansion plans in China, a US-based business-to-business media firm said. In 2010, multinationals, including Wal-Mart, Honeywell and Dell, will spend US$50bn on procurement in Shanghai, an annual increase of 30%, according to Global Sources. China's retail market value is set to grow 79% annually from 2009 to RMB20.8 trillion in 2014. The value of the electronics market will jump 55.8% to RMB1.38 trillion in the period, according to the China Retail Report. Dell, the world's No. 2 PC maker, plans to increase procurement in China from US$23bn in 2008 to US$25bn this year. Asian consumer electronics markets, led by China, will account for 36% of the global market next year from 34% now, according to the US Consumer Electronics Association. More than 3,000 Chinese retailers, including Bailian Group, Trust-Mart and Wangfujing Store, have set up procurement offices in Shanghai, Global Sources said. (Shanghai Daily).

  3.Yum! Brands Inc – said there are now 3,000 KFC stores in China. Since June last year, the US company said it has opened 400 new KFC restaurants and entered 30 cities nationwide, beating earlier expectations. (Shanghai Daily).

  4.Outokumpu – a leading producer of stainless steel, launched a service centre in Jiangsu Province to boost production and sales of special grade stainless steel in the domestic market. The company invested some US$24.5m to build the 42,000 sq m facility with an estimated annual capacity of 30,000 tons. (Shanghai Daily)
    
  Hong Kong

  1.Hong Kong retail sales rose for the eighth consecutive month in April on the ongoing economic rebound but growth moderated from the past two months on a year-to-year basis. Turnover surged 15.6 percent to HK$25.1 billion, while volume, excluding inflationary factors, climbed 12.4 percent from a year earlier, the Census and Statistics Department announced yesterday. But sales volume growth moderated from the 31.5 percent in February and 17.3 percent in March. Automobile sales surged 54 percent, while digital appliances rose 26.1 percent and jewelry leaped 22.1 percent. (The Standard).

  2.Henderson Land Development believes Hong Kong's housing shortage will ease in the next few years since its land bank can provide 45,000 new units, which is equivalent to the total supply of new housing for four years. Chairman Lee Shau-kee yesterday said the company had replenished its land bank by acquiring old buildings, paying land premium levies and converting agricultural land into residential use. By the end of last month, Henderson owned sites available for development with a total gross floor area of 32 million square feet, enough for 45,000 units. Most of the sites would be developed into mass residential projects providing 500 to 600 sqft flats. (SCMP).