China, Beijing, Sanlitun SoHo. Opened in early June 2010, the development comprises five shopping mall, nine residential and office towers. Designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and built by the Soho group - one of Beijing's most powerful and influential developers. The Complex future looks cloudy, it sits almost empty, many of the earliest businesses have already closed their doors. CHINA BUBBLE Will it burst? And when? While the analysts are engaged in a fire-hot discussion on the...
more »China, Beijing, Sanlitun SoHo. Opened in early June 2010, the development comprises five shopping mall, nine residential and office towers. Designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and built by the Soho group - one of Beijing's most powerful and influential developers. The Complex future looks cloudy, it sits almost empty, many of the earliest businesses have already closed their doors. CHINA BUBBLE Will it burst? And when? While the analysts are engaged in a fire-hot discussion on the future of real estate in China the mystery remains: is it a bubble? A big or a small bubble? And will it affect the weak Chinese banking sector? The reality on the ground is confusing. In the capital Beijing - as in the other metropolis as Shanghai and Guangzhou - sales are going down but prices are going up. Big shopping malls are empty, dusty and full of ''opening soon'' boards. But new, enormous mall are coming up, almost every week. In some places, demand for upper middle class is so hot that cannot be satisfied while in others speculators keep driving up prices for land, luxury apartments and villas that are desperately empty. Economist say that, with few other investment options in an economy that is still closed, investors are forced to put a big chunk of savings into real estate. In the last few years, they add, China has escaped the consequences of the international crisis by a ''cheap money'' policy that has made builders happy - but this policy is over and has left the banks overloaded with bad credits. While in Manhattan a vacancy rate of 10-15% is thought to be a disaster, in Beijing it has reached at least a 30 % level with no discernible effects. Only one thing looks certain: if the bubble burst, the aftermath will be difficult not only for China but for markets all over the world. CHINA BUBBLE Will it burst? And when? While the analysts are engaged in a fire-hot discussion on the future of real estate in China the mystery remains: is it a bubble? A big or a smal
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