Guangzhou R&F Tightens Its Belt
尽管中国的房地产市场最近一片繁荣兴旺，但一些开发商却开始学会冷静以对。在经历了2008年的低迷后，中国房价正再度上扬，这应归功于政府推出的经济刺激计划以及今年大部分时间执行的宽松信贷政策。许多开发商都在购买新的建房用地。Bloomberg News富力地产在楼市萧条时一度因沉重的债务负担而处境艰难广州富力地产股份有限公司却是个例外。它最近正准备归还一块在2007年12月拍得的土地，当时中国的房地产市场正接近顶峰。这一690万平方英尺的多用途地块位于佛山，这座南方城市是李小龙等功夫传奇人物的故乡。由于富力地产一度因沉重的债务负担而处境艰难，该公司将这块地闲置了大约一年半。虽然富力地产的处境已有所好转，但它上个月表示，将把这块地退还给佛山市政府，即使这会使它丧失人民币2.41亿元(合3,530万美元)的购地保证金。富力地产购买这块土地的出资是47.1亿元。该公司董事长李思廉(Li Sze-lim)上个月说，虽然退还土地确实会对公司造成损害，但佛山这块土地已不再适合富力地产更加保守的发展方向。李思廉还回顾拍地时的情形说，虽然没人想出高价买地，但拍卖现场的气氛会十分热烈。富力地产此举可能意味着，它在市场繁荣时期将不会收获那么多的利润。从富力地产决定收缩战线这件事可以看出，一些开发商希望在波动幅度堪称世界之最的中国房地产市场上实现更稳定的增长。标准普尔评级服务公司(Standard & Poor's Ratings Services)最近上调了对雅居乐地产控股有限公司和世茂房地产控股有限公司这两家香港上市企业的前景评级，因为标准普尔认为这两家房地产开发商已将其增长雄心调整到了更“现实”的水平。包括标准普尔分析师在内的众多分析人士都对房地产开发商碧桂园控股有限公司(Country Garden Holdings)提出了赞扬，因为它采取了更加谨慎的增长策略。苏格兰皇家银行集团(Royal Bank of Scotland Group)在香港的房地产分析师David Ng说，包括富力地产在内的一些开发商已经超越了“盲目扩张阶段”，在发布业绩预期时，它们不再说大话，也不再试图证明自己是业内老大。富力地产在2005年于香港上市后，一直在花大钱收购黄金地块，包括在佛山的这块地。该公司的房地产开发项目也从华南的几座城市扩展到全国12座城市，并进入了商业房地产市场，既从事开发也出租楼宇。由于中国大陆资金充裕，富力地产2008年申请在上海股市上市，以推动公司业务的增长。富力地产的董事长助理陈志濠(Adrian Chan)最近在接受采访时说，2007年时，大家的日子都非常好过，富力地产也受益良多。但经济危机却使该公司的上述计划被迫搁置，并使它背负了可谓业内最沉重的债务负担。陈志濠说，这种境遇可不妙，我们当时既无力增长也无法降低债务负担。分析师们曾一度担心富力地产能否撑过这段经济低迷期。陈志濠说，在国内贷款机构的帮助下，富力地产得以免于陷入更深的困境。这些机构帮助该公司延长了贷款偿还期将其债务重组为与该公司投资型房地产组合挂钩的中长期贷款。中国政府宽松的信贷政策也提振了贷款购房业务，这刺激了购房行为也帮助富力地产补充了财力。在摆脱最近遭遇的困境后，富力地产正计划将业务重点重新放到居住型房地产方面，减缓投资型房地产新项目的开发。该公司还计划，年底前将自己的净资本负债比率(一项衡量负债水平的指标)从2008年中期的139%降至80%。由于房地产市场正在复苏，富力地产也没有完全放弃购买土地。它今年购买了两块价位更适中的土地。但富力地产表示，它正在谨慎对待土地出售。李思廉说，现在好像大家都忘记去年发生的那些事了。Jonathan Cheng相关阅读中国房地产商掀起上市掘金热 2009-09-02中国房产泡沫形成中？ 2009-08-05中国房产市场回暖 2009-04-14 本文涉及股票或公司document.write (truthmeter('2009年09月09日12:05', '2777.HK'));广州富力地产股份有限公司（简称：富力地产）英文名称：Guangzhou R&F Properties Co.总部地点：中国大陆上市地点：香港交易所股票代码：2777
Despite the party atmosphere lately in China's property market, some developers are embracing a new sobriety.After a downturn in 2008, Chinese home prices are rising again, thanks to government-led stimulus and easy credit for much of the year. Many property developers are shopping for new land on which to build.Then there is Guangzhou R&F Properties. It recently made the move of returning a plot of land it won at auction near the top of the market in December 2007.The 6.9-million-square-foot mixed-use site in the southern city of Foshan, best known in China as the home of martial-arts legends such as Bruce Lee, sat vacant for about a year and a half as R&F struggled to stay afloat under a pile of debt.The developer has since recovered but said last month that it would return the parcel to Foshan's municipal government, forfeiting a 241 million yuan ($35.3 million) deposit on the 4.71 billion yuan purchase.'Yes, it hurts,' R&F Chairman Li Sze-lim said last month, but he said the Foshan plot no longer fit with the company's more-conservative direction.Looking back, he added: 'No one wants to buy land expensively, but when you're in an auction the atmosphere can be quite intense.'The decision to tighten its belt, which may mean R&F reaps less profits in boom times, reflects a desire among some developers for stabler growth in one of the world's most volatile property markets.Standard & Poor's Ratings Services recently upgraded its outlooks on two Hong Kong-listed developers, Agile Property Holdings Ltd. and Shimao Property Holdings Ltd., after they adjusted growth ambitions to what S&P called more 'realistic' levels. A number of analysts, including those at S&P, have praised developer Country Garden Holdings for adopting a more-restrained growth strategy.David Ng, a property analyst in Hong Kong for Royal Bank of Scotland Group, said some developers, including R&F, have moved beyond the 'blind expansion phase.' 'When giving guidance, they're not overpromising or trying to prove that they're No. 1,' Mr. Ng said.After listing on Hong Kong's exchange in 2005, R&F spent aggressively to acquire prime sites, including the plot in Foshan. The company expanded from a few cities in southern China to 12 cities nationwide and moved into commercial property as a developer and landlord.With mainland China awash in liquidity, R&F applied to list shares on Shanghai's market in 2008 to fuel growth.'In 2007, things were really exciting for everyone, and R&F enjoyed a lot of that,' Adrian Chan, an R&F executive, said in a recent interview.But the downturn put an end to those plans, leaving the company with one of the sector's heaviest debt burdens. 'It wasn't a good position to be in,' Mr. Chan said. 'We weren't able to grow or to deleverage.'For a time, analysts worried about the company's ability to survive the downturn.Mr. Chan said the company was able to stave off deeper woes thanks to domestic lenders, who helped R&F roll over its bank loans and restructure its debt as longer-term loans tied to the company's portfolio of investment properties. Beijing's loose lending policies also helped boost mortgage activity, which spurred home buying and helped R&F replenish its coffers.After its recent struggles, the company now plans to refocus on residential property, slowing its development of new investment properties. It also plans to bring down its net gearing ratio -- a measure of debt -- from a mid-2008 industry high of 139% to 80% by year-end.With the markets recovering, R&F isn't dropping out of the land-acquisition game altogether. It acquired two more-modest pieces of land this year.Still, R&F said it is approaching land sales with caution. 'It's like everyone forgot about what happened last year,' Mr. Li said.Jonathan Cheng
Despite the party atmosphere lately in China's property market, some developers are embracing a new sobriety.After a downturn in 2008, Chinese home prices are rising again, thanks to government-led stimulus and easy credit for much of the year. Many property developers are shopping for new land on which to build.Then there is Guangzhou R&F Properties. It recently made the move of returning a plot of land it won at auction near the top of the market in December 2007.The 6.9-million-square-foot mixed-use site in the southern city of Foshan, best known in China as the home of martial-arts legends such as Bruce Lee, sat vacant for about a year and a half as R&F struggled to stay afloat under a pile of debt.The developer has since recovered but said last month that it would return the parcel to Foshan's municipal government, forfeiting a 241 million yuan ($35.3 million) deposit on the 4.71 billion yuan purchase.'Yes, it hurts,' R&F Chairman Li Sze-lim said last month, but he said the Foshan plot no longer fit with the company's more-conservative direction.Looking back, he added: 'No one wants to buy land expensively, but when you're in an auction the atmosphere can be quite intense.'The decision to tighten its belt, which may mean R&F reaps less profits in boom times, reflects a desire among some developers for stabler growth in one of the world's most volatile property markets.Standard & Poor's Ratings Services recently upgraded its outlooks on two Hong Kong-listed developers, Agile Property Holdings Ltd. and Shimao Property Holdings Ltd., after they adjusted growth ambitions to what S&P called more 'realistic' levels. A number of analysts, including those at S&P, have praised developer Country Garden Holdings for adopting a more-restrained growth strategy.David Ng, a property analyst in Hong Kong for Royal Bank of Scotland Group, said some developers, including R&F, have moved beyond the 'blind expansion phase.' 'When giving guidance, they're not overpromising or trying to prove that they're No. 1,' Mr. Ng said.After listing on Hong Kong's exchange in 2005, R&F spent aggressively to acquire prime sites, including the plot in Foshan. The company expanded from a few cities in southern China to 12 cities nationwide and moved into commercial property as a developer and landlord.With mainland China awash in liquidity, R&F applied to list shares on Shanghai's market in 2008 to fuel growth.'In 2007, things were really exciting for everyone, and R&F enjoyed a lot of that,' Adrian Chan, an R&F executive, said in a recent interview.But the downturn put an end to those plans, leaving the company with one of the sector's heaviest debt burdens. 'It wasn't a good position to be in,' Mr. Chan said. 'We weren't able to grow or to deleverage.'For a time, analysts worried about the company's ability to survive the downturn.Mr. Chan said the company was able to stave off deeper woes thanks to domestic lenders, who helped R&F roll over its bank loans and restructure its debt as longer-term loans tied to the company's portfolio of investment properties. Beijing's loose lending policies also helped boost mortgage activity, which spurred home buying and helped R&F replenish its coffers.After its recent struggles, the company now plans to refocus on residential property, slowing its development of new investment properties. It also plans to bring down its net gearing ratio -- a measure of debt -- from a mid-2008 industry high of 139% to 80% by year-end.With the markets recovering, R&F isn't dropping out of the land-acquisition game altogether. It acquired two more-modest pieces of land this year.Still, R&F said it is approaching land sales with caution. 'It's like everyone forgot about what happened last year,' Mr. Li said.Jonathan Cheng