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Strategies & Market Trends : HONG KONG -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom who wrote (1996)	7/13/1998 10:58:00 PM
From: Tom	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2951

Ron: We began on this back in #1940. I like the decision. CHINA BACKS OFF STATE SECTOR REFORM. FINANCIALS SHAKE-UP STILL ON. (paren's mine) Fear of social unrest threatens overhaul of government-owned enterprise. BEIJING -- Shifting into reverse over painful reform of its creaking state sector, China called at the weekend for curbs on sales of small state firms to head off social unrest. But a sorely needed overhaul of China's rotten financial sector appeared to be steaming ahead with an announcement on Sunday that Beijing would unveil new regulations on closing illegal financial institutions. The retreat on state enterprise reform, coupled with the sign of increased worry over the country's financial health, came amid more news of deflation that threatens this year's 8.0 percent economic growth target. On Saturday, official media reported a directive from the powerful State Economic and Trade Commission (Headed by the reportedly capable Sheng Huaren, former chairman China Nat'l Petroleum Corp. Zhu worked there for 8 or 9 years, longer than anywhere else.) ordering local governments to dispense cures for ailing state companies on a case-by-case basis and not adopt sweeping sell-offs. "Recently there has been a mistaken tendency of across-the-board sales of small state enterprises," the China Securities newspaper said. Some local governments had set quotas for sales of state firms and used tactics that had "seriously affected local economic development and social stability," it said. ...analysts said the prospect of privatized companies shedding armies of unemployed workers remains unsettling. ...China said retail prices slid 3.0 percent in June, pointing to a weakness that threatens economic growth and job creation. The State Information Center, a government think-tank, has said it expected first half growth of 7.2 percent after a 7.2 percent rise in the first quarter. While analysts said the directive indicated a further slowdown in state enterprise reform, Beijing appeared to be delivering on a promised shake-up of the financial sector. The State Council, or Cabinet, had passed regulations this month aimed at shutting illegal financial institutions and businesses, ..."Experts said a batch of financial and non-financial institutions are expected to be effected (sic) by the releasing of the regulations on closing illegal financial institutions and illegal financial businesses," the newspaper said. The Business Weekly (a China pub.) hinted that further closures may lie ahead, revealing that one-third of China's trust firms were losing money while another third were unable to repay debts, which totaled tens of billions of yuan (billions of dollars). "The trust industry is the financial sector with the most severe problems as most of the trust companies engaged in banking business have poor asset quality and face difficulties in payment," it said. (I thought they started in on the Trusts a couple of years ago? A little more "pro-active" approach, maybe.) The newspaper said the country's financial system was not yeti in danger of collapse, but added: "Preventing and warding off the development of a payment crisis has become an urgent task in minimizing the risks". "The firm closure of insolvent financial institutions is an effective way to do this," it said. Venturetech, a once-powerful trust company with high-level connections in Beijing, was closed by the central bank for serious business irregularities. The Hainan Development Bank was shut after it failed to repay maturing debts. Last year, authorities also shut down the country's second largest trust company, the China Agribusiness Development Trust and Investment Corp., after the firm was crippled by failed real estate and stock market investments.

To: Tom who wrote (1996)	7/14/1998 9:27:00 AM
From: WONG	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2951

Tom, Dragon View looks promising. There is always a steady stream of "upgrade" homebuyers -- those wanting a larger unit as the family outgrows their current ones. Homantin area is very nice to live in, especially near King's Park. $5,600 @ sq. ft. I would consider a bit on the high side, the crucial factor is how willing are the banks to lend out mortgage dollars at this moment, but given that they have doubled the property transaction volume since the nine step rescue plan was announced, Dragon View could very well be a market leader, although we cannot view it as the de facto barometer on the overall HK property market....