Vanke bullish on Hong Kong property

引用: http://www.thestandard.com.hk

China Vanke, the world's biggest real estate firm by sales, said it remains confident about the prospects in the Hong Kong property sector despite the imposition of several tough curbs last week.
The mainland developer does not rule out undertaking a residential project in Hong Kong all by itself.

It insisted property-sector curbs imposed by mainland authorities did not compel the firm to tap opportunities abroad.

"In fact, we believe the measures taken by the Hong Kong property government are even tougher, but the buyer's stamp duty has a limited impact on our development in the city," chief executive Yu Liang said.

The company, which is in the process of converting its Shenzhen-listed B shares into Hong Kong property H shares, has partnered with New World Development (0017) to win a bid for an MTR Corp (0066) housing project in Tsuen Wan.

Yu said it may initiate a development on its own when the time is ripe.

"Building homes in Hong Kong property is easier than in the mainland," Yu noted.

Earlier this month, Vanke partnered with Tishman Speyer, owner of New York's Rockefeller Center, to develop two high-rise residential condominium buildings in San Francisco.

"Of course we will not only have projects in San Francisco. We will not rule out the possibility of having long-term investments elsewhere and learn from good companies in other countries," Yu said.

Du Jinsong, an analyst at Credit Suisse, said: "Their target customers are mainlanders who want to migrate overseas or have homes outside the country."

Vanke's net income rose to 8.87 billion yuan (HK$11.04 billion) in July-December 2012, compared with 6.65 billion yuan a year earlier.

For the full year, profit rose 30 percent to 12.6 billion yuan. Vanke shares closed 4.6 percent higher yesterday. STAFF REPORTER and REUTERS

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Hong Kong Property Set to Rein In Tax Breaks

引用: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324662404578329501732516638.html

Hong Kong Property—Hong Kong's finance minister on Wednesday pledged modest income tax breaks and waivers on property rates despite the government's ballooning fiscal reserves, in a warning against drawing heavily on the city's coffers in a weak economy.

In his sixth annual budget address, Financial Secretary John Tsang announced 33 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$4.26 billion) worth of relief measures to boost the economy, down sharply from the HK$80 billion worth of measures he introduced last year.

This reduction comes despite his forecast of a HK$64.9 billion budget surplus for the current fiscal year ending March 31, a sharp upward revision from the government's original forecast of a HK$3.4 billion deficit, due to higher income from land sales and property transaction taxes. This year's surplus would help push the city's total fiscal reserves to HK$734 billion.

Mr. Tsang on Wednesday said he expects the city's gross domestic product to grow 1.5% to 3.5% this year, faster than the 1.4% growth posted last year.

Measures Mr. Tsang announced in his address include a one-off reduction in personal income tax for the current fiscal year, to be capped at HK$10,000 per person, down from a HK$12,000 tax break last year.

The government is also waiving property rates—a form of property tax collected quarterly—in the fiscal year starting April 1, subject to a ceiling of HK$1,500 per quarter for each property. Mr. Tsang also announced subsidies on electricity charges.

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Hong Kong Property Investors Turn to Hotel Loophole

Frustrated by dizzyingly high home prices in Hong Kong Property, investors are buying up something new: hotel rooms.

his week, news that local developer Cheung Kong was selling all 360 units in its Apex Horizon hotel prompted hundreds of buyers to line up for the chance to plunk down cash. The units were all sold, netting the company—controlled by local billionaire Li Ka-shing—nearly $181 million.

Two-bedroom units sold for prices starting at $425,000, a good value for the area, despite rules that prohibit redecoration or other alterations to the unit, according to Ricacorp Properties’ Andy Jim. “It’s all investment,” said Mr. Jim, adding that speculators were keen to jump on a low-priced opportunity.

In addition to restrictions on redecoration, a Cheung Kong spokesman said, occupants are also barred from flame or barbecue cooking.

Apart from the low price, rooms in the hotel might not seem to be the most obvious investment opportunity, given the Apex Horizon’s location near the city’s container port in Kwai Chung, an industrial area filled with large swathes of public housing.

But the Apex Horizon sales come on the heels of government efforts to tame the city’s property market, which has seen residential prices double since late 2008. In October, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying slapped the city’s most draconian taxes on transactions yet, levying a 15% stamp duty on residential properties sold to non-locals, and a 20% tax—intended to deter speculators—on residential properties resold within a short period of time.

Since the Apex Horizon hotel is a commercial property, a Cheung Kong spokesman said, buyers aren't liable for such additional duties.

Still, Vincent Ho, vice president of the Hong Kong Property Institute of Surveyors, said buyers are rushing into murky legal territory and opening themselves up to potential prosecution through these purchases, which he called unprecedented in the city. A number of local politicians have also echoed this concern. The government says that if a buyer tries to occupy a unit as though it was a normal residence, they could be subject to fines of $13,000 and jail stints of up to two years.

Mr. Ho said that the government will have trouble ensuring whether owners of the units are using the hotel rooms as regular residences. Still, he says, “They may need to do so. They can do things like keep a very close surveillance of the building.” Mr. Ho says he doesn’t anticipate many other developers will try to mimic Cheung Kong’s sales tactics—at least not until the legal gray areas associated with such sales are clarified.

Since the government enacted its latest round of cooling measures, investors have poured money into everything from parking spots to shops, as well as the industrial sector. In the last quarter of 2012, the number of strata-title deals—in which buyers purchase individual units of a building—leapt to highs not seen since 1999, according to brokerage Colliers.

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Hong Kong shares gain, property jumps

引用: http://www.scmp.com

Hong Kong shares gained on Thursday, led by Hong Kong property and financial stocks, as investors looked for bargains after heavy selling last week.

Investors shrugged off comments from the territory’s financial services secretary that Hong Kong will report economic growth of just 1 per cent for 2012, its slowest since 2009.

The Hang Seng Index ended up 0.9 per cent at 23,413.25 points, rebounding from its sharpest weekly loss in three months last week. The China Enterprises Index of the top Chinese listings in Hong Kong gained 1.5 per cent. But turnover remained weak with many traders still away for the holiday.

Thursday was the first day of trade for Hong Kong this week after the long Lunar New Year holiday. Mainland Chinese markets are shut for the entire week and will resume trading on February 18.

“It’s just technical factors because everybody expects that the market opening higher would be good for the year,” said Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at securities house KGI Asia.

“We still have to see whether this rebound can be sustainable,” said Kwong, adding that some investors have already taken profits due to a lack of confidence after rotating into stocks that have underperformed the rally from lows late last year.

Chinese real estate stocks gained as worries over fresh Hong Kong property curbs eased.

China Overseas Land rose 2.5 per cent, while China Resources Land climbed 3.3 per cent.

“They were over-sold prior to the Chinese New Year holiday so today we see some bargain hunting in the leaders of the sector,” said Jackson Wong, Tanrich Securities equity vice-president for equity sales in Hong Kong.

Wong said the rebound should be moderate as housing policies remained uncertain before China’s leadership transition in March.

Macau gambling stocks rose after the territory posted record visitor arrivals from mainland China this week. Sands China was up 2.2 per cent, while Galaxy Entertainment Group jumped 3 per cent.

Financial stocks were boosted by better-than-expected China January loan data reported just before to the holiday.

Shares in Bank of Communications rose 2.3 per cent, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s biggest bank, gained 2.5 per cent.

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