CapitaLand China branch pretax profit amounts to 45% of the whole group (Guandian Web, March 9)

Pretax profit for the China branch of CapitaLand rose to a record high of CNY4.4 billion yuan for 2008, amounting to 45% of the whole group. The large growth of profit is mainly contributed by the disposal of Capital Tower in Beijing and the injection of its four Raffles City projects into Raffles China Fund, which is 50% owned by CapitaLand.

Vanke aims to improve products, reduce costs (SCMP, March 9)

China Vanke aims to achieve higher unit sales and revenue this year by improving the competitiveness of its products and cutting administrative expenses and operating costs by 20 per cent. The company reported yesterday a 16.7 per cent fall in net profit to 4.03 billion yuan for the year to last December, from 4.84 billion yuan in 2007. Sales rose 15.3 per cent to 38.6 billion yuan.

Plan set to rebuild rural homes (Shanghai Daily, March 9)

The Chinese government has announced a massive plan to rebuild dilapidated homes in rural areas, aiming to improve people's lives, create jobs and boost domestic demand amid the global financial meltdown. The country will renovate 800,000 rural houses this year, a move that is expected to create 1.5 million jobs.

British hedge fund eyes mainland real estate (SCMP, March 8)

Hong Kong's economy is being battered and bruised as banks lay off high-earning staff and western private equity and hedge funds shut up shop and leave. But as property prices retreat to reflect falling demand from top-paid earners, a new breed of value investors are being lured to town. Duet, a London-based hedge fund and private equity investor that manages US$2 billion of assets, will launch a Hong Kong-based China Fund in the final quarter of the year. It plans to hunt for rich pickings in the mainland's troubled real estate sector.

Falling prices bolster property sales (China Daily, March 5)

Property sales in China's major cities have seen an increase for four straight weeks due to developers' price-cutting efforts over the past few months. 90 percent of 33 large and medium-scaled cities experienced an increase in property sales last week. Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, saw the largest weekly increase of 85.88 percent, followed by Hangzhou and Chongqing. The transaction volumes in Beijing and Shanghai were also up 45.05 percent and 20.2 percent respectively.

Shanghai Forte earnings fall on impairment losses (China Daily, March 5)

Shanghai Forte Land’s 2008 full year earnings fell 85.7 percent over previous year to 101 million yuan due to impairment losses of certain projects, but forecast strong sales for this year. Strong sales in January and February indicate a good year for the company, which has set a sales target of 625,000 sq m of pre-completion gross floor area this year with an estimated value of 5.5 billion yuan.

Global Logistic Properties to invest US$1 bln in China (China Business News, March 4)

Global Logistic Properties, the former Asian operation of ProLogis, plans to invest as much as US$1 billion in China in the next two years. The company will expand investment in first- and second-tier cities in China and it estimated that the investment in East China regions will account to 40% to 50% for its total investment.

Beijing Capital Land sees revenue rebound this year (China Daily, March 4)

Realty developer Beijing Capital Land expects to post a sales revenue of 6 billion yuan this year on strong property sales. The Beijing-based company suffered a 53 percent fall in sales revenue last year to 3.74 billion yuan due to the rigid controls in the domestic property market.

SOHO China Gets CNY10 Bln Credit Line From Bank Of China (WSJ, March 4)

Property developer SOHO China has signed an agreement with Bank of China on a credit line of up to CNY10 billion. Bank of China will also assist in the financing arrangements of its investments in the real estate market.

Shanghai Forte to cut debt, increase capital (SCMP, March 4)

Mainland property developer Shanghai Forte Land plans to sell homes worth 5.5 billion yuan this year and raise 1.9 billion yuan from a proposed bond sale to cut debt and bolster its capital base. With a land bank of 6.85 million sq.m in 11 cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Changchun, the firm is aiming for contract sales of 625,000 sq.m this year. That is about 75 per cent more than the 356,000 sq.m sold last year.

Accor aims to expand presence (Shanghai Daily, March 4)

Accor plans to more than double its China presence over the next few years as it sees opportunities, especially in second and third-tier cities. By 2011, the company hopes to expand its China portfolio, both under operations and in the pipeline, to around 180 hotels, or 40,000 rooms.

Apartments costing less as sales begin to rise (English Eastday, March 7)

Apartment prices continued to fall in most areas of the city last month while transactions began to increase, Shanghai's second-hand housing index compiler has said. The monthly index, which tracks prices of existing homes in 52 city areas, slipped 4 points to 2,293 in February, extending losses for seven consecutive months after a 22-month rally. Transaction volume has been boosted over the past month as price retreats helped lure buyers.

Integrated Logistics buys land in Shanghai (Business Times, March 7)

Integrated Logistics has acquired a 54,000 sq m piece of land in Shanghai Yangshan International Deep Water Port for RM30.78 million. The acquisition is in line with the groups’ expansion plan to locate its logistics businesses in strategic locations in China.

Cool on Shanghai properties (Shanghai Daily, March 6)

Shanghai will likely suffer a plunge in overseas real estate investment this year as sellers and buyers are unsure about the capital values of properties. Overseas investors are set to make only 5 billion yuan worth of en-bloc acquisitions this year in Shanghai, a dive of nearly 70 percent from the 15 billion yuan in 2008.

Home deals soar as market sees robust sentiment (Shanghai Daily, March 5)

Rising demand among end-users for mid to low-end homes boosted buying sentiment for used apartments in Shanghai last month. Transactions soared 138.6 percent from January to 98,730 sq.m while the average price for second-hand homes fell 5.9 percent month on month to 13,727 yuan per sq.m in February.

Hilton banks on luxury (Shanghai Daily, March 5)

Hilton Hotels will soon expand its luxury Waldorf Astoria brand to Shanghai despite a tough environment that many hotel operators are presently facing as a global financial turmoil curbed travel demand and slashed accommodation budgets. The United States hospitality giant has signed an agreement with Shanghai New Union Building Co Ltd to manage the Waldorf Astoria On The Bund Shanghai, as part of the company's strategy to strengthen its luxury and lifestyle portfolio around the globe. The 266-room property, comprising two buildings, is scheduled to open in 2011.

Carlyle plays down villa sale plan (China Daily, March 4)

Private equity firm Carlyle Group has denied reports that it was selling its 110 villas in Minhang District of Shanghai to raise capital and said only a small proportion of the properties are being put on the block. Carlyle said reports that it was selling the villas at a loss were inaccurate and published without checking the veracity of the source. Carlyle stressed that it was satisfied with the villa investment and will continue to hold the property for a longer term.

Shanghai luxury hotels on a creaky stairway (China Daily, March 3)

Luxury hotels in Shanghai appear headed for tougher climes as they grapple with low occupancy, fierce competition and recession winds. The International Branded Hotels Shanghai, which has 65 top hotels in the city as members, said average occupancy rate among its members fell by 11 percent in 2008, to 56 percent from a year ago. Occupancy in January and February this year, which is normally quiet for Shanghai, has been worse than expected.

City’s housing sales continue to rise in Feb. (Shenzhen Daily, March 9)

In February, 5,275 new apartments with a total area of 488,000 sq.m were sold in Shenzhen, up 24.5 percent from a month earlier. This was a 43 percent jump compared with the average monthly sales last year.

Carlson Announces Ninth Property In China (CHN, March 6)

Carlson Hotels Worldwide has announced it will be managing a second Radisson hotel in Sanya Bay, Hainan. The latest agreement with Sanya Zhong Gang Real Estate Company marks the ninth hotel property currently under development in China for Carlson. The Radisson Hotel Sanya Bay will be located at the intersection of Yue Jin Road and Sheng Li Road, close to Sanya city and about 20 km from the airport. Radisson Hotel Sanya Bay will have 415 rooms. The property is scheduled to open in 2012.

Economy Hotels Seizing Market In Zhuhai (CHN, March 5)

Despite the decline in the tourism market, budget hotels like 7 Days Inn and Home Inns are enthusiastic about expansion in Zhuhai. The room occupancy of 7 Days Inn outlets in Zhuhai has remained above 90% since the Spring Festival. The global financial crisis has not affected the room occupancy of Home Inns in Zhuhai with the room occupancy staying at about 95%. Another budget hotel, Motel168, is also seeking a location for a new outlet though the hotel company said its occupancy rates had declined a little compared with the same period of last year.

Free trade zone proposed for Shekou (Shenzhen Daily, March 4)

A proposed State-level free trade zone in Nanshan District could serve as an experimental base for further integrating the Pearl River Delta region. The Qianhai and Houhai areas, which are located in the western part of the Shekou peninsula in Nanshan, are an ideal place to house the free trade zone because of their vast area and proximity to Hong Kong.

Xiamen is part of newly proposed 'Cross-Straits economic zone' (What’s on Xiamen, March 3)

Chinese political advisors have called for accelerated efforts to build a "cross-strait economic zone" covering Taiwan and the mainland's coastal provinces, which they said would become a new engine of growth for the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. It proposed both sides of the Taiwan Straits promote economic cooperation and division of labour through dialogue, and to set up inter-city links between Wenzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou and Shantou on the mainland, with Taiwan's Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, and Tainan, in the pursuit of mutual benefits and development.

New Jianguo Hotel Enters Tianjin (CHN, March 3)

BTG-Jianguo Hotels & Resorts Management Company has formally opened a new hotel, Binhai Jianguo Hotel Tianjin, in Tianjin's Binhai New Zone. Binhai Jianguo Hotel Tianjin is positioned as a four-star smart business hotel. With a total of 12 floors, the hotel boasts 263 suites and rooms with facilities that include Internet access, a safe, mini bar and international satellite TV.

Hubei To Attract Tourists With Tourism Villages (CHN, March 6)

Hubei is searching for featured tourism villages across the province and plans to build 100 tourism villages in the next four years to promote the development of the province's tourism industry. In the next four years, Hubei will set up a special fund for the construction of tourism villages, arranging about CNY250,000 to improve the tourism services and environment of these villages to make them famous and attract more tourists for the province.