A CONSTRUCTION firm based in China’s north-east with a string of commercial and civic projects under its belt is listing in Singapore.

Sino Construction aims to raise net proceeds of $35.6 million with its initial public offering (IPO) of 152 million shares priced at 39 cents apiece.

The company’s customers are mainly property and infrastructure developers and government-related bodies.

The offer, launched yesterday, comprises 6.4 million public-offer shares and 146 million placement shares.

Of the proceeds, $17.5 million has been earmarked for a concrete mixing base, $10 million will be used to purchase construction equipment, and the rest will serve as general working capital.

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Business model, project locations, land bank among factors cited.

(HONG KONG) Moody’s Investors Services has affirmed the Baa3 issuer and bond ratings of Shimao Property Holdings Ltd. The ratings outlook remains stable.

‘Shimao Property’s Baa3 rating is based on its competitive business model, attractive project locations, sizeable land bank, growing investment property portfolio, and strong brand name in mainland China,’ says Peter Choy, a Moody’s vice-president and senior credit officer.

‘It is also supported by a financial profile that is moderately leveraged - when compared to most of its peers - and likely to prove more resilient to unforeseen volatility in its business environment,’ says Mr Choy.

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(BEIJING) A cluster of cities in central China has been designated the country’s latest experimental zone, this one for energy saving and environmentally friendly programmes, state media reported yesterday.

China has a history of marking out zones for preferential policies which, if successful, are then rolled out across the country.

Its most famous were the ’special economic zones’ of the south which launched the country’s market reforms 30 years ago.

Now the Hunan cities of Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan as well as the Hubei capital of Wuhan, will be targeted to lead China’s drive to make its breakneck economic growth more environmentally sustainable.

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Singapore City @ Shenyang proving to be in high demand.

Property developer Brothers Holdings is riding high on its latest Singapore City @ Shenyang project, which is expected to reap sales of six billion yuan (S$1.2 billion) in all. Indeed, the company has reported overwhelming buyer interest during a recent private review of the first phase of the project, which is expected to yield some one billion yuan in sales over the next two years.

Coveted: Some 80 per cent of the 300 garden villas and high-rise apartments were snapped up by eager invitees who had waited for the high-profile development, says Brothers Holdings managing director Koh Tiak Chye

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Metro Holdings continues to expand its China footprint. It is investing about US$35.8 million on a 20 per cent effective interest in two adjacent projects currently under construction in north-west Beijing.

The two projects are Globe Plaza, a mall development, and Metropolis Tower, an office project, in ZhongGuanCun in Haidian District, Metro said in a filing with the Singapore Exchange over the weekend. The location, dubbed Beijing’s Silicon Valley, is an IT zone with many universities, science academies and research institutions.

Globe Plaza is a six-storey mall with four-basement levels.

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Industrial output in Nov grows slowest, while loans rose the least in 8 months.

(BEIJING) China’s factory and property spending growth has slowed - another sign that government lending curbs may be starting to cool the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

Fixed-asset investment in urban areas rose 26.8 per cent in the first 11 months from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said yesterday, after gaining 26.9 per cent through October. Economists calculated November’s increase at about 26 per cent, down from October’s 30.7 per cent.

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(BEIJING) China’s central bank has instructed the country’s commercial banks to tighten rules for real estate loans to help rein in rising property prices and curb fraudulent lending. Under the rules, loan applications will be counted by households instead of individuals, according to a Dec 5 statement published yesterday on the website of the People’s Bank of China. Lending for second-time home buyers will be restricted, the Chinese central bank said. The rules take effect immediately. — Bloomberg

Source: Business Times

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(BEIJING) China will raise taxes on the industrial use of farmland from the beginning of 2008 and extend the levies to foreign companies in a bid to curb illegal land grabs, state media said yesterday.

The new rules, taking effect from Jan 1, increase the highest tax rate to 50 yuan (S$9.74) per square metre from 10 yuan per square metre, the China Securities Journal reported.

Foreign firms and their joint ventures will no longer be exempt from the tax and will pay the same rate as domestic companies, it said.

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(BEIJING) As bank loans for property dwindle, an increasing number of prospective buyers are turning to pawnshops to finance their plans.

Wang, a 40-year-old Beijinger, owns an apartment worth about 700,000 yuan (S$136,000) in the capital. His desire to move to a larger second-hand apartment worth about one million yuan hit a snag when the owner demanded payment in full. Wang, however, only had slightly more than 600,000 yuan.

People who have already bought houses with a bank loan are required to make a downpayment of 40 per cent of the purchase price. And the loan interest rate should not be lower than 1.1 times the central bank’s benchmark rate.

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Teams will be sent to check if policies to calm market are being enforced.

(BEIJING) China’s cabinet will send teams to major cities next week to investigate whether policies to cool the sizzling property market are being enforced properly, sources said.

Mr Wen: Housing is his big concern when it comes to the people’s livelihood

Beijing has introduced a series of policies over the last few years to curb surging prices and provide more affordable housing but apparently to little effect, as prices have continued to rise steeply, especially in big cities like Shenzhen.

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