China Property Market Worries Drag Indexes

Chandrasekhar Atreya
28 Sep, 2010
New York City

The property market worries continue to stay in focus of stock investors. Stock indexes in Shanghai fell after investors worried that tighter restrictions may be needed to cool property markets. The benchmark index in Hong Kong declined more than 1%. Xinjiang Goldwind launched its HK offering.

[R]5:00 PM Hong Kong, China – The developments in the property markets continue to stay in focus of stock investors. Stock indexes in Shanghai fell after investors worried that tighter restrictions may be needed to cool property markets. The benchmark index in Hong Kong declined more than 1%. Xinjiang Goldwind launched its offering in Hong Kong.[/R]

Stocks in mainland China fell in trade today after a survey showed that the country’s restrictive housing policies. Stocks in Hong Kong followed suit on mainland sentiment.

More than 80% of respondents in an online survey said China’s restrictive housing policies are ineffective, and expect to see more measures to rein in the galloping price of real estate in the country.

The survey by People’s Daily, released Monday and answered by more than 46,000 people, followed the announcement of two new moves by authorities to slow down housing speculation.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong lost 1.03% or 230.89 to close at 22,109.95. The CSX 300 Index in mainland China lost 0.83% or 24.12 to close at 2,880.91.

Bright Food group, Shanghai’s biggest food and dairy company said it is in talks to buy UK based United Biscuits for $3.16 billion.

The move came after the company lost out to Singapore’s Wilmar in buying Australia’s largest sugar refiner, a division of CSR Ltd.

Xinjiang Goldwind, China’s leading wind turbine maker listed in Shenzhen, restarted its IPO in Hong Kong on Monday, seeking to raise as much as $916 million, after an aborted attempt in June this year.

In a statement filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company said it plans to sell 395.29 million new H shares and 10% would go to the public in Hong Kong while the other 90% would go to international markets.

Southeast Asia’s biggest bank DBS, is planning to more than triple its network in China in three to four years as it focuses on building its franchise to tap into China’s growth, a top official of the company said Monday.

The bank expects to have 50 outlets in China from the current franchise of 16 outlets in three to four years, said Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank in Singapore on Monday.

Chinese airlines will be barred from operating new flights or raising frequencies to Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, the country’s busiest hubs, in the winter-spring season because of limited landing slots and worsening flight delays, the aviation regulator said.

Only flights that can help improve the connectivity of those three cities will be allowed, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a statement on its Web site Monday.

Mainland China’s biggest e-book maker, Hanvon Technology Co Ltd, opened a subsidiary in Taiwan Monday and launched its latest model on the island.

The subsidiary will develop products, research and sell as well as seek opportunities to work with the island’s content providers so as to expand the reach of Chinese language markets together with its Taiwan partners, said Ray Zhang, Chief Strategist of Hanvon, at a press conference on Monday.