Real Estate & Commercial News in China from Propertyshowrooms.com

Agricultural Bank of China becomes shareholding company

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The state-owned Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) officially became a shareholding company Friday. It is the last of the "big four" state-owned commercial banks to complete the restructuring...

Changsha zones keeps expanding

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Changsha High-tech Industry Development Zone and the Changsha Economic and Technological Development Zone are expanding. They are involved electronic information, machinery manufacturing, new materials, bio-medicine, and other pillar industries. Computer terminals and direct-fired central air-conditioning sales volume from Changsha now rank first in China. It also accounts for 60% of the continuous strip of foam production...

Shanghai Disneyland may open by 2012. Perhaps. Possibly.

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A Hong Kong newswpaper and Shanghai Securities News both suggest Mickey Mouse and his friends could be welcoming visitors to the Shanghai’s own Disneyland as early as 2012 or possibly 2013 depending on which story you believe. The story is that the theme park, with an estimated cost of RMB40 billion($5.8 billion), will be located on...

China’s Gemdale 2008 property sales volume up 1.65%

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Shenzhen-based Gemdale said it sold 1.099 million square meters of property in 2008, up 1.65% from a year earlier. The value of the sales rose 17.01% year-on-year to RMB11.403 billion, the company said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. In December, Gemdale sold 119,700 square meters of property worth RMB1.135 billion, down 9.05%...

Liaoning government backed investment

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Shenzhen Investment, a Chinese government-backed investment company, paid RMB168 million (US$25 million) for control of a real estate project in Shenyang. Company unit Shum Yip Shenkong raised its stake in the Wuai Bus Terminal in Liaoning Province to 47% from 29% by injecting capital, Shenzhen Investment said in statement on its Website. The project in northeast China...

China property market cautious: deals slow

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Home prices have dropped by more than 30% in some Chinese cities. In June Morgan Stanley planned to sell at least two high-end serviced apartment projects in Shanghai, which are wholly owned by its real estate fund, for several billion yuan, Reuters reported in June. As yet, Morgan Stanley has not secured any buyer for the...

Radisson Plaza hotel will open in Sanya, China

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Carlson Hotels Worldwide Asia Pacific has signed an agreement with the Sanya Lu Hui Tou Tourism Development Company to manage a new Radisson Plaza hotel in Sanya, Hainan. The Radisson Plaza Hotel Sanya Lu Hui Tou will target both business and leisure travellers. The 240 room property, which is scheduled to open in the second quarter...

The Peninsula Shanghai hotel to be a jewel on the Bund

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Opening in late 2009, the Peninsula Shanghai is on the Bund with spectacular views of the Bund, Huangpu River, Pudong and the gardens of the former British Consulate, and blends with the historic architecture of its landmark neighbours along the Bund. The opening of The Peninsula Shanghai heralds the return of parent company The Hongkong and...

Treasury Holdings’s subsidiary buys 7.2% stake in real estate firm

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

China Real Estate Opportunities (CREO), the Treasury Holdings subsidiary, has acquired a 7.21pc stake in RREEF China Commercial Trust (RREEF CCT) which owns a $552 million office and retail complex in the Chinese capital Beijing. Located in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, the property known as the Beijing Gateway Plaza, is considered a strong performing asset...

Guangdong to bolster growth with rural resources for new zones

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Guangdong province in south China has pledged to invest more than RMB40 billion ($5.86 billion) to build infrastructure projects, industrial development zones, in the province’s rural areas before 2012. The projects include transportation, energy supply, telecommunications, water conservation and scientific innovation. The move aims to further improve the investment climate in the province’s western, eastern and northern...

More mid-range, high-end residential projects planned in Nanning

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Nanning — the capital city of China’s Guangxi province — is expected to see a boom in its property sector as farmers in rural areas cash in on new land policies and move to the cities. Farmers can now swap their land use rights for a sum of money, which they can use to settle down...

SOHO 2009 investment to top $1.29 billion

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Property firm SOHO China has said its investment in property next year will top the RMB8.8 billion ($1.29 billion) it will spend in 2008, as slumping prices provide buying opportunities. Beijing was worried about a real estate bubble only a year ago when it clamped down on speculative buying. It reversed direction in October with cuts...

China’s Shimao Property gets InterContinental to handle hotel management

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Shimao Property Holdings has entered into an agreement with InterContinental for cooperation in the hotels business. (Note that Shimao constructus a far wider range of buildings than just hotels. Shimao said it plans to open 6 hotels in four Chinese cities by 2013 and that Intercontinental will manage the properties under the partnership deal. The hotels, in...

VanceInfo launches Tianjin campus

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

VanceInfo, an IT service provider and one of the leading offshore software development companies in China, has opened an operation in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area. VanceInfo Tianjin is intended to be a major training and delivery center for the company. VanceInfo has already trained more than 500 interns and trainees in Tianjin and has acquired...

CIPA partners with Thomson Reuters on soft infrastructure project for hi-tech zones

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters and the Investment Promotion Agency of Ministry of Commerce, P. R. China (CIPA), have announced a partnership to create a ‘World Innovation and Investment Promotion Platform’ that aims to boost the soft infrastructure of China’s hi-tech zones. The idea is to foster innovation, and promote bilateral hi-tech related investment between...

Large petrochemical plant opens in Quanzhou

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The 12th China International Fair for Investment and Trade was held in Xiamen City. During the Fair, the Quanzhou Export Processing Zone signed an agreement on September 8 with Silan Achievement Chemplex for a large-sized petrochemical plant, which will be one of Fujian Province’s key promotion projects. The plant, which is expected to generate RMB3 billion in...

Vanke’s property sales tumble in August

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

China’s biggest listed property developer, reports its real estate sales plunged 35% from a year earlier to RMB4.07 billion ($595 million) in August. In terms of area, sales sank 33% to 474,000 square meters during the month. China’s property market has been faltering since late last year because of a slowing economy and cooling speculative purchases...

$40 million polyester resins project in Tianjing development zone

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Reichhold has signed a letter of intent with the Tianjin Economic Development Area to start a new unsaturated polyester resins project. Reichhold intends to build a 50,000-ton-per-year unsaturated polyester resins project in Tanggu in the development zone. The proposed plant is expected to attract a total investment of $40 million and has a registered capital of...

Shangri-La says hotel occupancy may dip

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Shangri-La Asia, the region’s biggest luxury-hotel operator, may book fewer rooms this year as rising airfares and a slumping world economy hurt tourism. In an earnings report the hotel group said, ‘It is generally considered unlikely that hotels will experience the high levels of occupancies witnessed in 2007.’ Shangri-La’s net income fell 15% to $135.7 million in...

Huntsman opens Asia Pacific Technology Centre in Shanghai

Mon, 8 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Huntsman Corporation, a leading global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals, has opened its Asia Pacific Technology Centre (ATC) in Shanghai’s Minhang Development Zone. The new Centre will initially accommodate research and technical experts from Huntsman’s Polyurethanes and Performance Products divisions, with the number of specialists expected to expand rapidly over the next few years. Don Stanutz...

China’s tallest tower inaugurated in Shanghai

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Shanghai World Financial Center, standing 492 meters tall and also nicknamed the ‘Wall Street of China,’ the biggest skyscraper in Chinese mainland and the third-tallest in the world has been officially inaugurated. The 492-meter-high building is in the Lujiazui area of Pudong District overlooking the Huangpu River. It covers an area of 381,600 square meters. It...

Pöyry expands its real estate operations in China

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Pöyry (spelled that way because it originates from Finland) has expanded its real estate consulting and engineering operations in China by acquiring the entire stock of Shanghai Kang Hong Construction. Based in Shanghai, the company employs 29 experts. Net sales for 2008 are estimated at $1.47 with good growth prospects. The transaction will not be finalized...

Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone: an engine of economic growth

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The two cities involved are hoping the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone will become an engine of economic growth for the country’s vast western region. Centered on both cities, the zone incorporates 14 cities of Sichuan and 23 districts and counties of Chongqing. The zone, with an area of 155,000 sq km, about a quarter of the total area...

Kuwait Finance invests in China realty project

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the Gulf state's biggest bank by market value, said on Saturday it was investing $275 million (Dh1 billion) in a real estate project in China as part of plans to boost its exposure to Asia. KFH has signed a deal with China's Nan Hai Corporation to invest in the...

Chilton Investment chooses Chengdu for office

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Stamford-based Chilton Investment has opened offices in Chengdu to serve its major business zone. In March 2006, the Ministry of Information Industry approved the establishment of the National (Chengdu) Electronic Component Park within the Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zone. It can already boast companies such as Intel, IBM, Nokia, Microsoft and Xerox. Chilton, a manager of...

Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen opens

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen, a new five-star, US$200 million, flagship Shangri-La hotel, has opened in the heart of Futian, the business district of Shenzhen. The hotel is a few minutes’ walk from Shenzhen’s mass transit railway system, which links directly to Hong Kong via the Huanggang border crossing and Futian port. It also offers easy access to...

Soho China CEO upbeat on property market

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Soho China CEO Zhang Xin is confident that the listed Chinese developers will ride out the current difficulties. She describes the difficulties as temporary and to a large extent caused by government policies as the Beijing government tries to control inflation. Meanwhile, the lack of readily available credit is actually causing opportunities for a cash-rich commercial...

Skyline Gets Facelift Ahead of Asian Games

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Ultramodern skyscrapers, new stadiums and a 610-meter-high television and sightseeing structure are in the works in Guangzhou, China's manufacturing hub, as it prepares to host the Asian Games in 2010...

InterContinental to miss China hotels target

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The world’s biggest hotelier, InterContinental Hotels is set to miss its target to have 125 hotels in China by the end of this year. The British group, which operates InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels, said it is likely to miss its China target due to the Sichuan earthquake in May and the Chinese government’s...

Dalian Port Group to fund new Lvshunkou port projects

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

China Knowledge reports that the Dalian Port Group has signed an agreement with Dalian’s Lvshunkou district government to jointly develop Yangtouwa and Double-Island Bay areas. (Note Lvshunkou was previously known as Port Arthur and an alternative spelling is Lushunkou) Under the new agreement, Dalian Port Group, which operates China’s largest crude oil port, will increase its...

Blackstone, rivals, eye $1 billion China commercial property

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Global buyout funds and property investors including Blackstone Group are vying to buy up to four commercial buildings in Shanghai for as much as $1 billion. Super Ocean Group has put a package of four buildings on sale as it seeks cash to support its growth in other sectors. The four buildings to be sold by Super...

Four Points Sheraton Beijing, Haidian now open

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Four Points by Sheraton has announced the launch of its first Four Points by Sheraton hotel in North China. Technically it is the Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian Hotel & Serviced Apartments. Following the successes of other Four Points hotels which opened in Greater China including in cities like Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Changshu, Lhasa and...

Blackstone launches Beijing office

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

US private equity fund Blackstone Group has opened an office in Beijing to further tap into the fast-growing Chinese market. Fu Shan, former vice president of Beijing Mainstreets Investment Group, a Shenzhen-listed real estate investment firm, has been appointed as the office’s chief representative. Fu was also a former official with China’s National Development and Reform Commission...

Real estate consultancy to sell shares

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

World Union Real Estate Consultancy, a Shenzhen-based real estate consultancy and brokerage service provider, is about to make a ground-breaking IPO. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has approved World Union’s IPO application, allowing the company to list shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Wang Jia, an Industrial Securities analyst said, ‘It is probably the country’s first property...

Shenzhen moves up in world rankings

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The writer worked as a publisher and journalist in Hong Kong for many years. When he first went to Hong Kong — don’t ask — Shenzhen was a grubby little village. It is now China’s richest city ranked by per capita GDP and within another decade, it plans to become as modern and competitive as Singapore...

Starwood signs 100th China Hotel

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Starwood Hotels — the first international hotel chain to enter China when the Great Wall Beijing Sheraton Hotel opened in 1985 — has announced the signing of its 100th hotel in the country. The 470-room Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng hotel will form part of the Global Trade Centre mixed-use development that comprises offices, retail stores and serviced...

China gets Costa

Wed, 6 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Whitbread, the leisure group, has opened its first Costa coffee store in Beijing in time for the Olympics, the first of 300 stores planned in China under a joint venture with Beijing Hualian Group. It already has 25 stores in Shanghai under...

Kardan wins auction for land for mixed-use development

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Kardan has won an auction with a local partner to acquire land with construction rights of about 109,000 square meters in the city of Hangzhou in China. Kardan will pay $62 million for the 10,400 square meters of land together with partners. Of the partners Geely Group will hold 40% of the project. Kardan’s subsidiary GTC Real...

Kerry, Shangri-La in $1 billion China property project

Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hong Kong-listed Kerry Properties (controlled by the Kuok Group which is the controlling shareholder in the South China Morning Post) said it would invest up to RMB7.3 billion in a hotel and residential project with ancillary commercial use in Hebei province. Kerry will form a joint venture with its sister company Shangri-La Asia, Singapore’s Jeston Investment...

Ningbo Zone moves the city towards a comprehensive economy

Sun, 3 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Ningbo National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, northeast of the city center and to the west of the Beilun District and the Ningbo port, is moving Ningbo from a single export-oriented model to that of a more comprehensive economy. NBHTZ, which covers an area of 18.9 square kilometers, was created in 1999 and upgraded to a...

Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen to open this year

Sun, 3 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The new five-star Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen, will open in the heart of Futian in the fourth quarter of 2008. Futian is the bustling business district of Shenzhen, one of the largest and busiest cities in southern China. The hotel will be just a few minutes’ walk from Shenzhen’s mass transit railway system, which links directly...

New World’s RMB287.54 million deal in Liaoning

Sun, 3 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

New World Department Store China has entered into an agreement to acquire for RMB287.54 million the ownership rights to a commercial building and land use rights to a 32,500 square meter site on which the building is to be erected. The site is located at Shenyang City’s Dadong district in Liaoning. The company, a unit of property...

$27 million later the St Regis Beijing re-opens

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The newly restored St Regis Beijing has opened in Beijing. Starwood is rightly very proud of newly renovated St. Regis Beijing. The renovation and redecoration cast $27 million. There are 258 guest rooms and 102 suites so it seems to have cost about $75,000 a room. The St. Regis Beijing also features Danieli’s, one of Beijing’s finest...

Shanghai house sales see declining trend

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

At last housing prices in Shanghai are showing signs of decline, with some luxury apartments in the city center seeing a cut in prices while potential buyers remain uncertain as to the right timing for making a purchase. Many potential buyers in Shanghai are waiting for a price plunge following the drop in Shenzhen housing prices...

China’s hotel boom set to continue

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Sino Express Travel is encouraged by recent reports confirming China’s hotel boom. The number of domestic touristz soared to 1.61 billion in 2007, an increase of 15.5% from 2006. There will be a small set-back which could be thought of as the post-Olympics effect but it is not expected to be crucial nor yet long-lasting. According to...

Industrial land prices in Shanghai set to rise

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Industrial land prices and rents for industrial facilities will rise significantly in Shanghai over the next few years on robust demand from investors and occupiers. This according to CB Richard Ellis, a leading real estate services firm. Andrew Hatherley, executive director for Industrial and Logistics Services, CBRE China said that over the next four years, prices...

Ecological coastal city for China

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A new coastal city will be built in Caofeidian, an industrial zone in North China on the Bohai Sea. DHV, an engineering conultancy, has been commissioned, together with the Chinese planning institute Qinghua and the Arup consultancy from the UK, to carry out a coastal and urban development project in China. The coastal city is to be...

Wyndham brand to further expand in China

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Wyndham Hotel Group International has announced plans for the construction of a 337-room, 15-story luxury hotel in Shanghai. The Wyndham Baolian Hotel, scheduled to open in April 2010, is being developed by Shanghai Baolian Real Estate Company in the city’s Baoshan district. This will be a MICE hotel for it will have 1,650 square meters of meeting...

New World RMB307.32 million Henan property deal

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

New World Department Store China has entered into an agreement to acquire land-use rights for a 26,396.4 square meter residential/commercial site in Zhengzhou city in Henan for RMB307.32 million. New World Department Store also acquired the right to use four levels at the podium of a commercial building that will be built on the development site...

Encouragement to open up in designated zones

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

From a site called The Lawyer Blog we get a glimpse of the way in which companies are encouraged to invest in the development of assorted zones. ‘Enterprises that were established on Hainan Island and that were engaged in the development and operation of infrastructure such as ports, wharfs, airports, highways, railways, power stations, coal mines...