Hong Kong/China Property Daily:Inside the Great Wall

Media continue to report on Vanke’s lawsuit against Baoneng’s stake increaseMainland media continue to track the progress of Vanke’s lawsuit againstBaoneng’s stake increase. Hexun and Net Ease report that the court ofShenzhen has declared as invalid Baoneng’s stake increase in Vanke-A shares(000002.SZ). However, Guandian reports that the Shenzhen IntermediatePeople’s Court has confirmed that the trial has not started. The lawsuit wasinitiated by Vanke’s worker union in July 2016. (Hexun, Guandian).

    NDRC rules out large-scale land acquisitions and projects in new zonesOn 6 February, the NDRC issued a notice on its official website on newdevelopment zones in the country. The commission highlights three basicrequirements for new development zones: i) the focus is on the developmentof industries; ii) it forbids scientific planning, large-scale land acquisitions andlarge-scale project development; and iii) the top priority is to improve thebusiness operation environment. The establishing of new provincial-leveldevelopment zones will be key for the overall development of such zones inthe country. (CFI).

    Mortgage policy to be relaxed if market enters down-cycle, says HKMA.

    The HKMA chairman stated that it needs more time to monitor the propertymarket to examine the effect of newly introduced stamp duty measures. Hejoined a LegCo meeting yesterday, where he noted that since the policy wasintroduced in November last year, transaction volume has dropped noticeably,with primary transaction volume down 80% MoM and secondary transactionvolume down 30-40% MoM. Besides home prices, the HKMA will look attransaction volume, interest rate movement and housing supply, etc. Hereiterated that the HKMA will continue to tighten policy if the property marketcontinues on its up-cycle, but if the market enters a down-cycle, it will relaxpolicy as appropriate timing. (Apple Daily, HKEJ).

    CKP obtains presale consent for Seanorama in Ma On Shan.

    Cheung Kong Property (1113.HK) has obtained presale consent for its Ma OnShan project, Seanorama, according to the newly released report by the LandsDepartment for January. Three other projects that have gained sale approvalare: Eden Manor, which has already uploaded its sales brochure; Pavilia Bay,which is already in the market; and Wheelock’s (0020.HK) 23 Tong Chun Streetproject, which is slated for sale next month. Henderson Land (0012.HK) istargeting to release the pricing and sell some units of Eden Manor within thismonth. (Apple Daily)