Tags: china
The Dubai - Hainan Connection: The Wizards of Wenzhou Strike Again
What does Dubai have in common with Hainan Island, China?
Answer: China's infamous millionaire real estate speculators of Wenzhou. I was recently pointed to a juicy background story at India Times of global property speculation leading from Wenzhou across the globe to Dubai and then back to Hainan Island where just one month earlier, the Wenzhou gang descended upon this tropical island paradise in a well-timed frenzy of property speculation, even by fast-rising Chinese property market standards.
From the India Times Article:
Millionaires from the isolated coastal city of Wenzhou, a centre of Chinese private enterprise, have fanned out across China and overseas over the last decade in search of property that they buy, and often quickly resell at a profit.
They may collectively face about 1 billion yuan ($146.5 million) in losses as the Dubai real estate market contracts, the head of the Wenzhou SME Business Development and Promotion Association said on Wednesday.
This story broke back in December revealing that in fact it was Wenzhou native Hu Bin, chairman of Shanghai Zhong Zhou Group, who laid out $28 million to purchase one island of the World Islands project set for luxury development and now looking more like a desert mirage. Post Dubai crash, Wenzhou investors are looking for the bargains there once again. "Since the recession on real estate in Dubai, I've led three groups of investors to Dubai to investigate properties," said Chen Zhiyuan, the president of Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce in the United Arab Emirates. According to a February report in China Daily, "Wenzhou, China's private capital powerhouse in the southern province of Zhejiang, is among the richest areas in the country and the birthplace of self-made billionaires who are manufacturing clothes, shoes, and other small commodities like lighters."
Chart from a related article at Business Insider
In an effort to identify where else the Wenzhou investment groups may be targeting for their investment hoards, we dig deeper to find a recent yet poorly translated article at www.kinablog.com , where we find the following:
China Inflation and Property Prices Continue to Surge in February
Well, we know Hainan is leading this parade...not good for the health of China's ongoing development...once again the greedy gain for themselves at everyone else's expense...Cheers, Mario
This just in from the news wires....
(RTTNews) - China’s National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday announced that property prices in 70 major cities across the country were up 10.7% year-on-year in February, faster than the 9.5% increase in the previous month. Housing prices were up 13% year-on-year in February, faster than the 11.3% increase in January, the statistical office said. Property sales in the first two months of the year jumped 70.2% compared to the same period a year ago.
Hainan, Island Chinese New Year Holiday Hotel Rates: A Travesty And Insult To The Good People of China
Let's tell a story about how to utterly destroy the holiday plans of good, hard-working families. Your family holidays are a welcome and needed break from the daily hustle and bustle of life's routine. Memorial Day. Fourth of July. Labor Day. The Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year Season. All an important part of your life.
Now imagine waking up one morning to find that the $150 per night rate at the 5 star Newport Beach Hyatt or San Diego Sea World Marriott or the Hilton Resort Sanya was specifically priced during your family's main holiday week at an outrageous, price-gouging, insulting $1100 per night. An American would say "Whoa dude." A Chinese would utter, "Ai Ya!" The difference is: its real in China, where the spirit of a country's most important national holiday seems no more than rich man's game benefiting few, rather than building and supporting a proud, national spirit.
Back in the West, if it happened, how to comprehend and explain it? Immediately your brain cells start firing off, your mind sweeps for answers. Perhaps financial Armageddon has finally arrived. The Euro has collapsed? Another Asian currency crisis? Another 911 attack, but worse? Maybe you run to check downstairs at the grocery store and find the prices of everything went up triple and all bank accounts have been frozen. How else can you explain such a disproportionate price increase? If we wake up to news on the TV that suddenly a hotel room rate is multiplied not just by double or triple, but six to ten times the normal daily rate, we wonder on the edge of panic, "What the heck else is going on with prices of other things? It must have some other meaning too!"
Indeed, our family holiday plan is utterly destroyed. In our budget, we knew airfares would be high. We knew there won't be any discounts to snatch up.
But we didn't expect to be raped in the name of national holiday spirit.Pages: 1 · 2
China High Speed Rails Now 3300km of Track Across China
It is remarkable to consider China's commitment and progress with regard to the country's high-speed rail system. The world is rightfully concerned about the future when oil supplies will no longer be able to supply the world's energy. Now we look at China's commitment to alternative energy (solar, wind, nuclear) and the high speed rail system which will undoubtedly serve to keep Chinese traveling between cities on the ground via high-speed rail rather than by air, burning far less oil in the process...Cheers, Mario
BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's operational high-speed railways have exceeded 3,300 kilometers, leading the world in both length and technologies, the Ministry of Railways said on its official website Thursday.
Last year China finished two high-speed railways between Wuhan-Guangzhou and Zhengzhou-Xi'an, with an operating speed of 350 km/h. Before that, China had built high-speed railways between some of its major cities, including Beijing-Tianjin, Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan, Qingdao-Jinan, Hefei-Wuhan and Hefei-Nanjing.
A number of new high-speed railways are being built and will be finished in the coming few years, of which the Beijing-Shanghai line has a length of 1,318 km and a designed travel speed of 350 km/h. Construction of the line started in April 2008 and would finish in around five years. It would cut travel times between the two cities to only five hours from about 12 hours. China's railway links had expanded to 86,000 kilometers by the end of 2009, the world's second longest only after the United States.
Pages: 1 · 2
Hainan Island Reality Check: Spike in Hainan Property Values Makes The Front Page of Mainstream News
Those of us residing on Hainan Island, China, particularly in Sanya, can enjoy feeling a bit puffed up due to a mainstream media front page story out of Market Watch's Hong Kong bureau on property prices gone wild here. When property values double in price in less than two weeks it should make the front page news. Indeed, these price moves could make derivatives traders blush.
As the publisher of Sanya's Quarterly Real Estate Report, our research and history on the ground in Sanya since 2006 led us to predict near the end of 2009 that prices for ocean front properties would and should level off in the 15 to 30,000rmb per square meter range. That's US $200-$400 per square foot.
Well, we were wrong. Wrong because reasonable based on the past doesn't apply in today's economic environment, both globally and in China.
Next page - taking a closer look to gain some insight.
SanyaExpat Wishing Each of You a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Year of the Tiger
This year's Chinese New Year celebration has many reasons to be a particularly auspicious and happy occasion. While I enjoy arguing the merits of too high too fast property prices, it is easy to notice the incredible economic, infrastructure and lifestyle progress which the government has supported and created. All around us, while whining about too much noise, the fact is that China's cities are cities being transformed for the better. Sanya has little infrastructure now yet we can clearly see billions being poured in through government infrastructure budgets and private developers to transform the island into a more worthy destination, as was done in Mexico with Cancun and Cabo San Lucas.
Indeed Sanya and Hainan Island's progress will take time, and for many, be inconvenient over the coming years. Yet the vision is clear; of the Chinese government's recent declarations to bring Hainan's status up to an internationally recognized level, there is no doubt and only admiration of their remarkable plans and progress.
While this year's holiday traffic is sure to be difficult, that is a reality no different than holiday traffic anywhere else in the world, is it? Try driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas during Fourth of July or Labor Day weekend in the United States. We love to complain, to point out the important problems and conflicts, but sometimes we shouldn't. Instead we point out for example, that Dadonghai's main drag has been expanded to brand new three wide lanes on both sides with more sensible traffic barriers; undoubtedly there will be a massive improvement in traffic flow now and in the future compared to last year. While in Dadonghai, don't forget to stop by Coffee World right on Dadonghai beach for a perfect espresso and more.
This past two weeks, my wife and I escaped once again up into the beautiful rainforest mountains and farmlands of the island to find that all of the dirt farm roads have been paved. Last week it was Boao, where we stayed at Elizabeth Kiderlen's lovely Boao Bed 'N Breakfast Inn Featured in the latest edition of Lonely Planet's China Guide, being served a breakfast feast including homemade banana bread and pumpkin pancakes while Freddie the Hainan Mynah bird sits on your shoulder gives you an idea of how special your stay will be.
Sanya is a city scrambling to catch up. And scrambling they are; private businesses expanding and upgrading, training of employees increasing to meet the demands of increasing numbers of tourists, provincial and local government efforts to rebuild, brighten and beautify the city; the evidence is impressive and it is all around us.
And so, in the spirit of recognizing the challenging yet amazing transformation of Sanya and the rest of Hainan Island, we especially appreciate our central role and responsibility here at SanyaExpat bringing the insights, updates and tips about Sanya to the world.
As had happened many years earlier to my good friend Michael Connolly, founder of ShanghaiExpat www.shanghaiexpat.com I started SanyaExpat with his wise encouragement over three years ago and have now grown into a website which has averaged close to 3000 hits PER DAY during this year's winter holiday season. As a result of the growth of building traffic and increasing brand awareness, you will be seeing greatly expanded banner advertising partners and website content in the coming weeks. There's too much to do and not enough time to do it as we all take part in the expansion of China, the most remarkable world expansion of our generations.
With much appreciation and thanks for your support, loyalty and feedback over this particularly wonderful year, we join all of you in welcoming the Year of the Tiger. Special thanks to Coffee World, Fat Daddy's and Sanya Bounce for making daily life in Sanya more comfortable and fun.
May you and your families enjoy a healthy and prosperous Chinese New Year celebration.
Cheers, Mario
Founder and Chief Editor
www.sanyaexpat.com
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