戴德梁行：今日全球楼市速递(2010.09.09)

    Mainland China

    1.A land parcel adjacent to Little Lujiazui in the Pudong New Area became the most expensive residential plot in Shanghai after being acquired by a Hong Kong developer at a price of RMB35,490/sq m. A subsidiary of The Wharf (Holdings) Ltd agreed to pay a total of RMB4.8bn for the 54,415 sq m plot, beating 2 rivals, including fellow Hong Kong developer Sun Hung Kai Properties. Starting price for Lot E18 (9-3), a rare offering in the city's land market due to its nearness to the Huangpu River, was RMB3.4bn, or RMB25,113/sq m, according to the website of Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Planning and Land Resources, the city's land watchdog. The plot, surrounded by Pudong Road S. to the east, Puming Road to the west, Ningyang residential community to the south and Zhangjiabang greenbelt to the north, attracted great interest from real estate developers since being introduced to the market in May. "The final price actually fell short of the expectations of many analysts and it indicated that real estate developers remained cautious about the overall housing market despite some signals of recovering sentiment among home buyers over the past month," said Sky Xue, an analyst with China Real Estate Information Corporation. "According to earlier predictions, the land plot could have sold reasonably at between RMB40,000 and RMB45,000/sq m and might have fetched as much as RMB50,000/sq m." A neighboring land parcel obtained earlier by Sun Hung Kai Properties garnered a lot of recent attention upon reports that residential units being built on that plot might set a new record in Shanghai. Some of its units may sell for as much as RMB200,000/sq m upon completion. Luxury apartments in the Little Lujiazui area with views of the Huangpu River usually ask from RMB80,000 to nearly RMB200,000/sq m. Residential units without river views are often tagged for RMB50,000 to RMB80,000/sq m, industry data show. (Shanghai Daily).

    2.HSBC Life Insurance Co Ltd – plans to expand to 8 provinces or municipalities in 5 years to deepen its presence in China, Chief Executive Officer Terry Lo said. The Shanghai-based insurer, a venture between London-based HSBC and Beijing-based National Capital, will tap HSBC's banking network to reach affluent Chinese, Lo said in Shanghai. (Shanghai Daily)

    3.TNT – will pump an additional RMB1.5bn in its wholly owned Chinese subsidiary TNT Hoau as it seeks to double revenue within 5 years. The money will go toward infrastructure such as factories and vehicles and improving information technology system as well as training professionals and enhancing the firm's brand image, said Xu Shuibo, chief executive of Hoau, in Shanghai. (Shanghai Daily).

    4.Citic Capital, controlled by state-owned conglomerate Citic Group, is shifting its focus to mainland retail properties as policy risks in the residential sector increase. The real estate private equity management firm, which manages more than US$3 billion of assets, yesterday announced its first retail centre in Changsha, Hunan province, with a total investment of 1.5 billion yuan (HK$1.71 billion) Stanley Ching, senior managing director of Citic Capital’s Real Estate arm, said the investment marked the company’s new direction in retail properties in second and third-tier cities. (South China Morning Post)

    Hong Kong

    1.Eslite chairman Robert Wu was now exploring opening one in 2012 at the earliest, and mentioned the former Central Market Building, Causeway Bay and Kowloon as possible locations. The Chain’s flagship store in Hong Kong would include a restaurant, a food court, lifestyle design store, contemporary art gallery, education centre, theatre, and observation deck. The company hopes to launch three to five shops in Hong Kong, with the initial investment on the first one estimated at between HK$60 million and HK$80 million. (South China Morning Post)