real estate Archives ~ Business China : news for investors in China

IPOs: E-House Eyes IPO For Asset Management Unit

By newsdoug on April 8, 2015

Bottom line: An IPO plan for Jupai could raise up to $100 million and perform relatively well if it can sell itself as an asset manager well positioned to profit from China’s real estate downturn.

E-House grooms Jupai for IPO

The year’s first IPO for a Chinese company in New York could finally be in the pipeline, with word that an asset management firm controlled by real estate services firm E-House (NYSE: EJ) has made its first filing for a listing. The plan comes in a broader announcement by E-House, which has transferred its asset management business to a third company called Jupai, which in turn has submitted a draft registration to the US securities regulator in preparation for a proposed IPO.

If the plan goes forward, it could become the first listing for a Chinese company in New York this year, stealing the distinction from another IPO plan by group buying site 55Tuan. IPO watchers will know that 55Tuan filed its listing plan back in January, but missed several deadlines for unexplained reasons without formally saying it is scrapping the plan. (previous post) Read Full Post…

INTERNET: 58.com Gets Bargain For Real Estate Site

By newsdoug on March 3, 2015

Bottom line: 58.com’s purchase of a secondary real estate trading site at a big discount looks like a shrewd move for the longer term, but could cause a short-term drag on profits due to weakness in China’s property market.

Local media are buzzing about a relatively large Internet deal that will see leading online classified advertising site 58.com (NYSE: WUBA) buy Anjuke, one of China’s largest online platforms for services involving secondary real estate. But the source of the buzz isn’t the deal itself, but rather the huge bargain that 58.com is getting compared to what Anjuke said it was worth just a year ago. That massive discount reflects the broader gloom surrounding China’s real estate market as it teeters on the edge of a major correction, and certainly doesn’t bode well for listed peers like E-House (NYSE: EJ) and SouFun (Nasdaq: SFUN). Read Full Post…

IPOs: Wanda Sags, Inches Into Australia; Linekong Lines Up

By newsdoug on December 24, 2014

Bottom line: Shares of BAIC and Dalian Wanda will be flat over the next few months after weak trading debuts, while Linekong shares will open down 5-10 percent if they debut before year-end.

Dalian Wanda dips in IPO

The year-end flurry of IPOs happening in Hong Kong is sputtering, with the 2 biggest offerings by shopping mall operator Dalian Wanda (HKEx: 3699) and car maker BAIC Motor (HKEx: 1958) both making weak trading debuts. That doesn’t bode too well for one of the year’s final remaining IPOs for Linekong, since other companies from the highly competitive video gaming sector haven’t done very well in their similar recent listings in Hong Kong. Read Full Post…

Shanghai Agents Rise Up Against SouFun

By newsdoug on August 6, 2014

Shanghai realtors rebel against SouFun

Online real estate services empires that took years to build are suddenly coming unglued, with word that Shanghai property firms are joining a list of clients who have stopped giving their business to sector leader SouFun (NYSE: SFUN). I’ll be quite blunt and say that anyone who didn’t see this coming must be living in a cave, even though I was somewhat surprised that the stocks of SouFun and its peers quickly recovered from a sell-off after similar reports emerged last month and in June. We’ll have to wait and see if the stocks rebound again this time, though perhaps this latest news will finally make investors realize that SouFun and its peers could be looking at a prolonged downturn as China’s real estate market finally goes through a much needed correction. Read Full Post…

Investors Shrug Off Property Downturn, Cheer SouFun

By newsdoug on July 11, 2014

SouFun announces 2 new tie-ups

Investors in China real estate service stocks have a short memory these days, reflecting the broader uncertainty in the country’s real estate market that could be on the edge of a major downturn. After a sharp sell-off earlier this week on concerns about a property bubble, shares of SouFun (NYSE: SFUN) have come bouncing back on news about equity tie-ups with 2 leading home agency companies. Shares of its 2 major listed peers, E-House (NYSE: EJ) and Leju (NYSE: LEJU), have also quickly bounced back from the brief sell-off as investors decided it might be premature to worry about a downturn. Read Full Post…

Real Estate Stocks: Time To Sell The Shop?

By newsdoug on June 17, 2014

Shares of US-listed Chinese real estate websites have been on a roller coaster ride these last few days, raising the question of what the next few years may hold for industry stalwarts SouFun (NYSE: SFUN) and E-House (NYSE: EJ), and newly listed Leju (Nasdaq: LEJU). For anyone who doesn’t live in China and is reading this, the issue that’s weighing on investors’ minds is the fate of a Chinese real estate market that’s showing early signs of a needed correction after years of hyper growth. Such a correction would undoubtedly put a chill on transaction volumes and other service-related activities, which form the mainstay of these New York-listed firms. Read Full Post…

IPOs: E-House Decorates Leju, Cheetah Chases $300 Mln

By newsdoug on April 3, 2014

Leju in new US tie-up

The tide of Chinese firms rushing to list in the US continues, with big new moves coming from security software specialist Cheetah Mobile and Leju, a unit of online real estate agent E-House (NYSE: EJ). Cheetah has filed for a New York listing to raise a hefty $300 million, in what would have been considered a major deal just a half year ago but now looks rather routine in the current wave of new offers by Chinese tech firms. Meantime, E-House is continuing its own IPO drive for Leju, which has just announced a new tie-up that will allow its users to invest in US real estate. Read Full Post…

E-House Finds Strong Partner In Tencent

By newsdoug on March 24, 2014

Tencent invests in E-House’s Leju

Perhaps I was a bit hasty a couple of weeks ago in declaring that a new IPO plan by online real estate company E-House (NYSE: EJ) for its Leju unit looked like the recycling of an old listing that flopped and was eventually privatized. Since that initial announcement, E-House has followed with a couple of new plans for Leju, both involving collaboration with Tencent (HKEx: 700), China’s biggest Internet company. In the latest of those, E-House has just announced that Tencent will become a strategic investor in Leju, paying $180 million for 15 percent of the unit. (company announcement) Read Full Post…

E-House Tries Again With Leju IPO Plan

By newsdoug on March 11, 2014

E-House eyes NY listing for Leju

After an unsuccessful earlier listing for one of its units, online real estate giant E-House (NYSE: EJ) is preparing to try again with plans for a New York IPO for its Leju division. The company has been quite cagey in this latest listing plan, giving little details about Leju’s background and why the unit deserves its own separate listing. Perhaps that’s because a little checking reveals that this “new” offering is really just a recycled listing for a previous company jointly-owned by E-House and leading web portal Sina (Nasdaq: SINA). Read Full Post…

Vanke’s Internet Obsession: Real Or Imaginary?

By newsdoug on January 3, 2014

Many companies from traditional sectors have been taking a serious look at the Internet these days, worried that failure to develop a solid web strategy could result in their eventual demise. For sectors like retail and some other traditional product categories, I agree that strategy makes sense as the Internet radically changes the way that these industries operate. But I find the recent Internet obsession by the CEO of Vanke (HKEx: 1036; Shenzhen: 000002), one of China’s leading real estate developers, a bit more difficult to understand, since property doesn’t seem like a sector that can easily migrate to the web. Read Full Post…

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。