外文翻译WTO对中国房地产市场的影响.docx

1、外文翻译WTO对中国房地产市场的影响The Chinese Real Estate Market and the effects of WTO Chinas impending entry in the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be a blessing to the real estate industry in China which has had little to celebrate since the bustling days of the early-mid 1990s. WTO entry sends a positive me

2、ssage to foreign companies about Chinas commitment to economic and market reforms. Demand from foreign companies - the primary occupants of top-quality commercial, industrial and residential projects is likely to increase as new companies enter the market and others expand as restrictions are gradua

3、lly lifted. It is, however, premature to say exactly how much the real estate market will benefit. To predict that WTO entry will mean rising rents and demand for more construction in the short term is, perhaps, misguided. The details of the agreement are not yet known, and it is likely that the imp

4、act will be gradual and unevenly spread amongst businesses and in different areas of China. Financial services, telecommunications, distribution and logistics, information technology, agriculture, and professional services industries, as well as Chinese consumers, are likely to be significant winner

5、s.Metropolitan areas may see benefits due to easing of restrictions on financial services companies. Banks and insurance companies are a major industry sector in these areas, and the lifting of restrictions on their activities could unleash significant latent demand for real estate as the reforms ta

6、ke hold. The lifting of trade restrictions, the lowering of tariffs and the easing of restrictions on distribution over the next five years will be a boon for warehousing, logistics and distribution real estate in Chinas busiest port city, as well as in the rest of China.While WTO entry may encourag

7、e a recovery in real estate markets sooner than otherwise expected, almost every major market in the country remains vastly overbuilt. In the office sector, the vacancy rate for Grade A buildings is presently 30% in Beijing and 38% in Shanghai. Based on recent trends in demand, this vacant office sp

8、ace will take two to three years to be absorbed, and there is more construction underway.China will continue to reap economic rewards from the comprehensive package of housing reforms that the central government has been continually introducing. The most recent development in the new policy is the r

9、eplacement of monetary subsidies for welfare housing distribution. This new move builds on the 1998 directive, which ended the provision of subsidized housing to public servants. The reforms, coupled with an increased readiness on the part of banks to grant residential mortgages, are expected to pro

10、mote the sale of housing and facilitate housing construction. While it is Chinese citizens who will benefit most from the housing reforms, foreigners may also have the opportunity to participate in the real estate boom. Foreign banks are seeking permission to compete in the huge mortgage market and

11、purveyors of building materials, furniture, household appliances and interior design services are now honing in on the Chinese market. Any restrictions or conditions to which foreign companies are presently subject are likely to be relaxed or lifted completely upon Chinas accession to the World Trad

12、e Organization. This strong socialist principle of state ownership of real property has been somewhat circumvented by the introduction of land-use rights. A land-use right is created when the owner of the land (the State or a collective) separates one or more of the rights of possession, use and ben

13、efit from the complete right of ownership and grants them to another legal person. Land-use rights in practice are acquired by way of a grant or by means of allocation by the State. The rights exist for a definite term ranging from 40 years for commercial, tourist and recreational purposes to 70 yea

14、rs for residential purposes. The land-use rights holder may then exercise the rights granted, but the land must be used in accordance with the land-grant contract. An amendment to the Constitution in 1988 confirmed that the rights to the use of land may be transferred in accordance with law. Dependi

15、ng on the stipulations of the land-grant contract, and the extent of the rights granted the holder may have a right that is practically the same as ownership, albeit for a limited time. Thus, notwithstanding the socialist tenet that there shall be no private ownership of land, an ordinary Chinese ci

16、tizen may legally own his house, and, in conjunction with an appropriate land use right, may for all intents and purposes own the land and everything above it. Accordingly, a Chinese real estate market that trades land-use rights coupled with the structures on the land has gradually evolved. Central

17、 to the new housing policies is the desire of the Chinese government to facilitate the purchase of housing by Chinese citizens. This deviation from traditional socialist principles is aimed at bringing about increased consumption, a broadening of employment opportunities and the renewed availability

18、 of government resources. Most provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have already formulated schemes for the sale of public housing to individuals. To date, approximately 60 per cent of such housing has been sold nationwide. Political and ideological notions aside, the recent housing refo

19、rms have had vast economic ramifications. Chinas fledgling real estate market of the early 1990s has now blossomed: over the past two years, investment in real estate has been growing by 20 per cent per year. 401 billion Yuan was invested in real estate development nationwide in 1999. Housing constr

20、uction has increased dramatically and it is predicted that at least 55 million square meters of floor space will be added year-on-year until 2010. In response to both government initiatives and market trends, banks will endeavor to increase the number of loans granted for real estate purposes. The b

21、alance of such loans by Chinas state-owned commercial banks reached 355.6 billion Yuan by the end of 1999. Commercial banks will also focus on making a greater amount of housing mortgage loans available to individuals in 2000. The projected target for such loans is 100 billion Yuan. The Peoples Bank

22、 of China has pledged to strengthen supervision of the granting of housing loans. The China Construction Bank has gone one step further than its competitors by announcing that the grant of housing loans in Chinas central and western areas will be accorded a special priority.Inevitably, the housing r

23、eforms are not free from all difficulties. The gradual evolution of a market economy in China has cracked the iron rice bowl. With the demise in prominence of state-owned enterprises and the rebirth of the private economy, Chinese workers can no longer expect lifetime employment. And now, with the i

24、ntroduction of a monetary subsidy, Chinese citizens can no longer bank on the security of welfare housing. Will this hold back any foreseeing boom?A real estate boom in China will inevitably fuel the national economy, providing indirect benefits to all foreign investors. But it is overseas real esta

25、te developers who are poised to reap the most gains, for they already enjoy preferential treatment by way of exemption from investment regulatory taxes, easy access to fund-raising and freedom to remit profits abroad.High demand and profit potential in Chinas housing market make the industry a key i

26、nvestment target for foreign financial institutions, who will offer real estate developers financial services ranging from feasibility studies to consulting, the article said. Most investment would go to the residential housing market, and increasingly in Chinas medium-sized and smaller cities, the

27、article said. Chinas idle office construction industry will be a direct beneficiary of the mushrooming of foreign-invested factories and branch offices likely to follow in the wake of Chinas WTO entry, the article said. Chinas domestic building materials industry, however, which has few key products

28、 and minimal exposure to international markets, will be negatively impacted by Chinas entry to WTO. But domestic developers would benefit from the downward pressure on building materials, and Chinas accession would lower import tariffs. Cheaper materials will bring building costs down, so housing co

29、sts should fall as well. In the medium to long term, the institutionalized reforms required by WTO rules are likely to have a positive impact for real estate investors and occupiers as a result of increased business activity and the more systematic development of Chinas economy as a whole. The comme

30、rcial and residential markets are overbuilt because too many developers rushed into China at the same time, and the strong demand was just not enough to fill the space. WTO will be a boost on the demand side, and may just fulfill some of the hopes that investors had when they came to China. Like the

31、 commercial market, the expatriate housing market will be positively affected. While certain companies have been reducing expatriates in the last several years (or at least the proportion of expatriates to overall employees), the wave of new companies coming to China will likely bring more senior ex

32、patriate managers, however according to the AmCham 2000 Housing Survey, foreign companies plan not to hire as many expatriates in the upcoming year. WTO will have a positive effect on the market and there will be more expatriates entering China from smaller or medium sized businesses. Its not all hy

33、pe. Some economists believe that WTO membership is being over publicized, but others see it as the answer to Beijings real estate problems. It is generally believed that Chinas pending entry into the World Trade Organization will be a blessing for Beijings real estate market, which has been depressed since the economic