Morgan Stanley Divests Assets as Mainland Property Growth Rises 16%

Mar. 9 – Morgan Stanley is divesting its mainland China property assets and has sold off US$700 million worth of assets in the past year, the latest being its 50 percent holding in a Foshan residential project, which it has sold back to the developer for US$25million.

Other sales that have taken or are taking place include Infinity Plaza, the Xujiahui Shama serviced apartment block, and Nanjing Road’s Exchange mall, all in Shanghai. This comes as mainland property growth rose 16.1 percent, with sales increasing 42.1 percent year on year. Over 930 million square meters of property were sold last year. Read the rest of this entry »

China Briefing Partners with China Daily and IBISWorld to Provide China Industry Reports

Mar. 2 – China Briefing has partnered with China Daily and the market research firms All China Marketing Research and IBISWorld to provide a series of industry reports covering a number of sectors

Written by dedicated researchers from China Daily and ACMR-IBISWorld, these reports are listed on the Asia Briefing Bookstore and include the following titles:

China Daily
AutoChina
China Banking
China Energy Read the rest of this entry »

Beijing City Releases New Real Estate Policies

BEIJING, Feb. 25 – New real estate policies released yesterday attempts to rein in ballooning housing prices and property speculation in China’s capital city.

The Implementing Opinions for Promoting the Steady and Healthy Development of the Real Estate Market in Beijing (Implementing Opinions), asserts adherence to a 40 percent initial housing loan payment for second properties and single land leases of commercial housing should not exceed 20 hectares. Read the rest of this entry »

Sanya Residential Property Skyrockets

Feb. 9 – Crispins Property Investment Management (CPIM) has released a bulletin examining the property market in the tropical South China Sea island of Hainan and the resort city of Sanya.

Sanya has long been regarded as “China’s Hawaii” and with its beaches, coconut palms and great sea food it has developed into a popular destination for Chinese and expatriate tourists. The latest bulletin provides details of pricing, availability, and why Sanya is bucking the trend when it comes to purchasing residential units in China. Read the rest of this entry »

Corporate Tax for Construction Companies Clarified

Feb. 4 – The State Administration of Taxation has released a circular explaining applied corporate income tax for construction companies.

The circular instructs trans-regional construction enterprises implementing the head office and branch office systems to calculate and pay for CIT tax following the provisions stated in Guoshuifa [2008] Document No. 28 issued in 2008 and detailing CIT implications. Read the rest of this entry »

Property Tax in 2010 Unlikely

Jan. 21 – The possibility of the government implementing property tax this year remains slim since more preparations need to be done despite pilot property tax programs already in place around the country.

Since the start of the year, there have been speculation that Beijing may impose a property tax to cool down the real estate market which reported sales ballooning by 75 percent to RMB4.4 trillion last year. Read the rest of this entry »

Developers Required to Register Idle Land by March 22

SHANGHAI, Jan. 21 – The Shanghai Urban Planning, Land and Resources Administration Bureau is requiring real estate developers to register all idle land by March 22.

Delayed construction projects or land left idle a year after purchase must be registered as well as approved development projects still pending construction. Real estate companies that do not register will be meted a fine equivalent to 20 percent of the land price if the land is left barren for more than one year but less than two years after purchase. Moreover, land left idle for more than two years will be reclaimed by the government. Read the rest of this entry »

China May Expand Pilot Property Tax Program Nationwide

Jan. 6 – China may implement a pilot property tax program nationwide reports Shanghai Securities News.

Morgan Stanley said that China may levy a tax on commercial real estate in “selective regions” before applying a levy on residences in an effort to temper the heated property market. It will take some time before the pilot program is officially made into law and by then it would be the first time a nationwide tax will be levied on the value of property in China. Read the rest of this entry »

China to Maintain Fiscal, Monetary Policies Until Next Year

Dec. 8 – China has confirmed that it would maintain its current fiscal and monetary policies until next year to sustain economic growth during the annual Central Economic Work Conference Monday.

The year 2010 is the last year of Beijing’s 11th five-year plan so the decision to continue with current stimulus plan is not only good news for China but for the rest of the world counting on the China market to augment sagging Western demand. Attending high ranking policymakers and officials during the three-day conference agreed that the global financial crisis has highlighted the urgency to transform the country’s economic development policy reports China Daily. Read the rest of this entry »

Clarification on Real Property On-Letting

Dec. 4 – The State Administration of Taxation has released Circular 639 to further explain individual income tax (IIT) treatments on income derived by individuals from on-letting real property.

According to the circular, income earned from on-letting real property is taxable under the IIT’s property rental category. On-lessor rental given to the landlord is qualified for deduction from the on-letting income for IIT purposes. Taxpayers should be able to provide the leasing agreement and payment vouchers for reference. Read the rest of this entry »

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