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News Digest: November 29, 2011

By newsdoug on November 28, 2011

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 29. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.

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◙ Chow Tai Fook Seeks $2.8 Billion in Hong Kong Initial Offering, Terms Say (English article)

◙ E-House (NYSE: EJ) to Invest in Century 21 China Real Estate, Become Largest Shareholder (PRNewswire)

◙ Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME) Announces Special Cash Dividend (PRNewswire)

◙ Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) to Build Cloud Platform, Training Center in Chongqing (English article)

◙ CNOOC Ltd (HKEx: 883) Completed Acquisition of OPTI (PRNewswire)

News Digest: November 23, 2011

By newsdoug on November 23, 2011

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on November 23. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.

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◙ Shanda Interactive (Nasdaq: SNDA) Enters into Definitive Agreement for Privatization (PRNewswire)

◙ Suntech (NYSE: STP) Reports Q3 Financial Results (PRNewswire)

◙ E-House (NYSE: EJ) Reports Q3 and First Nine Months Results (PRNewswire)

◙ Number of China Group Buying Sites Falls For First Time – Report (Chinese article)

◙ Buying Focus Media (Nasdaq: FMCN) on Bullish Goldman, BofA Reports Lost 66% (English article)

News Digest: October 29-31, 2011

By newsdoug on October 29, 2011

The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on October 29-31. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.

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◙ Lashou Files For IPO to Raise Up To $100 Million (Chinese article; English article)

◙ E-House (NYSE: EJ) Proposes to Buy Outstanding CRIC (Nasdaq: CRIC) Shares (PRNewswire)

◙ Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) May Partner on Online Video – Source (English article)

◙ Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) Aims To Sell Asia Assets, Not Entire Company – Source (Chinese article)

◙ ICBC (HKEx: 1398; Shanghai: 601398) Third-Quarter Profit Gains 28% (English article)

Real Estate Relief Coming With Foshan Reversal 佛山放宽限购政策的启示

By newsdoug on October 12, 2011

Property easing en route in smaller cities There’s an interesting bit of news today that indicates relief may be in sight for some real estate companies, now suffering through the most sluggish property market since Beijing reintroduced private property ownership in the 1990s. But the latest move, which has seen the mid-sized city of Foshan roll back some of its most drastic real estate restrictions, probably reflects recent financial distress being felt by local governments rather than any desire by Beijing to help a real estate sector that looks more like a gambling casino than a true property market. According to a report in the China Daily, Foshan, a smaller city near Guangdong’s provincial capital Guangzhou, has eased restrictions rolled out last year under orders from Beijing that forbade local families from buying more than one home. It also eased selling restrictions, saying owners could sell their homes if they had owned them for 5 years or more. (English article) Foshan most likely would only take this kind of step with Beijing’s approval, and I expect we’ll see similar moves from other second- and third-tier cities in the next month or two. Unlike top tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai, these smaller cities are especially dependent on land sales for their revenues, and clearly they need those revenues to avoid defaulting on the numerous infrastructure and other loans they took out at the height of the global financial crisis under directives from Beijing to boost spending to prop up the economy. Having to choose between inflation and a massive wave of defaults on local government loans, Beijing seems more willing to accept the former, at least in its smaller cities. All this should spell good news for real estate services firms like E-House (NYSE: EJ), Soufun (NYSE: SFUN) and China Real Estate Investment Corp (Nasdaq: CRIC), which derive much of their revenue from activity in the market rather than actual real estate prices. Real estate developers with a greater presence in these smaller markets should also benefit, though easing measures in top tier cities are probably still at least a year or two away.

Bottom line: A new easing of real estate restrictions in a mid-sized Guangdong city indicates Beijing is moderating its tight property policies, providing relief for real estate services firms.

Soufun Shores Up Foundation With Strong Results, Outlook 搜房网靓丽财报和前景或预示房产业向好

By newsdoug on August 10, 2011

The good news keeps coming from real estate services firm Soufun (NYSE: SFUN) which, after announcing a nice dividend just two weeks ago, has reported solid quarterly results and raised its 2011 guidance, in what also looks like a good sign for the real estate sector. The company’s revenue nearly doubled in the quarter and its operating profit quadrupled. (company announcement) It also upped its annual revenue outlook by nearly 10 percent, saying it now expects 2011 revenue to come in at $290-$300 million versus previous guidance of $270-$280 million. The strong results came just 10 days after Soufun announced a dividend that amounted to a cash return of about 5 percent, in a bid to lure back investors as US-listed China stocks take a broader beating due to concerns about their accounting. (previous post) Soufun didn’t provide any commentary with the results, but clearly the ongoing correction in China’s overinflated real estate market isn’t as severe as many had predicted, at least not yet. That news should also bode well for other big real estate services firms like E-House (NYSE: EJ), which is in dire need of good news after a very weak first-quarter report that saw it slip into the red. (previous post) We’ll have to wait for E-House’s results to see if a turnaround is really underway for the broader sector. But at first glance at least, Soufun’s strong results seem to say that demand for real estate services and transaction volumes are picking up as home buyers look for bargains after months of waiting to see the effects of Beijing’s attempts to cool the market. Healthy activity for lower priced homes in smaller markets might also be a factor in Soufun’s good results, as evidenced by a stronger-than-expected second-quarter report earlier from Vanke (Shenzhen: 000002), China’s leading home builder. (English article) Regardless of specifics, all the signs certainly seem to point to better times ahead for Soufun.

Bottom line: Soufun looks like a good bet following strong Q2 results and a new dividend, boding well for the broader real estate sector.

房地产服务公司搜房网(SFUN.N)不断传来好消息。公司两周前刚刚宣布派息，现又公布了第二季度的靓丽财报，且提高了2011财年的预估收入，这似乎也是房地产行业的一个好迹象。搜房网第二季度的营收增长近一倍，其营业利润同比增长3倍。公司还将年度营收预估提高了近10%，称目前预计2011财年的营收额在2.9亿-3亿美元之间，高于此前2.7亿-2.8亿美元的预期。因受累于在美上市企业会计丑闻所带来的不利行情，就在10天前，为重新吸引投资者，搜房网宣布决定每股普通股派发一美元股息。搜房网没有就该财报提供任何评论，但很明显，中国房地产市场正在进行的修正并没有很多人预计得那麽严重，至少目前看是这样。这则消息对易居中国(EJ.N)等其他大型房地产服务公司亦是利好。此前，易居中国第一季度录得的业绩十分黯淡。我们还需等待易居中国发布第二季度的财报，以确定整个房地产业是否出现好转。但至少初步看来，搜房网的靓丽财报似乎说明，购房者在观望政府楼市打压政策数月後，国内对房地产服务的需求和交易量都在增加。较小市场低价房屋的良好动向或许也是搜房网靓丽财报的一个因素，此前万科(000002.SZ)优于预期的第二季度财报便是明证。所有迹象似乎都预示搜房网前景向好。

一句话：搜房网二季度财报靓丽，加上此前宣布的派息，该公司看似一个不错的选择，并预示整个房地产业前景向好。