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POLITICAL ECONOMY
Hong Kong apartment fetches record $61 million
by Staff Writers
Hong Kong (AFP) Aug 24, 2012


A luxury apartment in Hong Kong has sold for a record HK$470 million ($61 million), making it the priciest condominium in the Chinese city and possibly in Asia, reports said Friday.

An unidentified buyer paid the HK$75,806 ($9,773) per-square-foot price for the 6,200-square-feet (576-square-metre) unit at Opus Hong Kong in the upmarket Peak residential area, Hong Kong Economic Journal and Sing Tao Daily said.

The whopping price for the unit, which takes up the entire eighth floor of the 12-storey building, is believed to be Asia's most expensive apartment and the world's second most costly after London's One Hyde Park, Sing Dao Daily said.

The building was designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry.

Developer Swire Properties declined to confirm the deal.

"We have no information to share at this point," spokeswoman May Lam-Kobayashi told AFP.

She added however that tenants recently leased another unit at the property for HK$850,000 a month.

Local media reported that the sale beat the city's previous record price of HK$360 million paid for a unit at another luxury property last year.

"This is definitely a new record price for any Hong Kong apartment," Centaline research head Wong Leung-sing told AFP.

"But we think it's an isolated case as this is an ultra luxury condo," Wong said, adding that it could not be used as a yardstick to gauge investors' appetite for luxury apartments in the Asian financial hub.

Property prices in Hong Kong, famous for its sky-high rent and super-rich tycoons, have surged over the past few years due to record low interest rates and a flood of wealthy buyers from mainland China.

The property market however has seen a slowdown this year, with sentiment hit by the eurozone crisis and plans to boost public housing.

Even so, many residents complain they can no longer afford decent accommodation in the city of seven million people, and analysts say property ownership is out of reach even for the upper middle class.

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China mulls stronger property controls: Xinhua
Beijing (AFP) Aug 24, 2012 - China is studying new measures to beef up controls on the property sector, state media said, amid signs of rebounding housing prices.

The housing ministry is "closely monitoring" changes in the property market and "is studying with relevant departments further policies to strengthen market control", Xinhua news agency said late Thursday, citing an unnamed official.

New home prices in 50 out of the 70 Chinese cities tracked by the government increased in July from June, latest official data showed. That represented a doubling from 25 in June.

The price rebound came despite government tightening policies for more than two years that have included prohibitions on buying second homes, an increase in minimum down-payments and the introduction of property taxes in certain areas.

However, a recent review of 16 provinces and cities by official inspectors found some local authorities had loosened controls or even granted purchasing subsidies to stimulate home-buying amid China's economic slowdown, Xinhua said.

The inspectors have "demanded immediate rectification in areas that had relaxed the controls and stressed that local authorities must not loosen the controls in any form with any excuses," it said, citing the ministry official.

An increase in supply and consecutive cuts in mortgage interest rates by commercial banks also encouraged consumers to buy, the official said.

China has recently cut interest rates twice in quick succession and slashed reserve requirement at banks to encourage lending as Beijing seeks to boost the economy after growth hit 7.6 percent in the second quarter, its lowest in more than three years.



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China manufacturing hits nine-month low: HSBC
Beijing (AFP) Aug 23, 2012
China's manufacturing activity fell to a nine-month low in August as firms struggled with global woes, providing further impetus for Beijing to beef up economic stimulus efforts, HSBC said Thursday. Preliminary figures from the British banking giant's closely watched purchasing managers' index (PMI), which gauges nationwide manufacturing activity, hit 47.8 this month, the lowest since Novemb ... read more


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