急求房地产金融发展或改革方面的英文文献

changes in real estate law ease constraints on foreign investors
by stephen tomlinson and d**id patrick eich
publ**hed:april 24 2007 17:22|last updated:april 24 2007 17:22
foreign investors continue to pile into chinese real estate in spite of last july’s ** measures apparently aimed at cooling down an overheated market.
according to the national bureau of stat**tics,real estate investment in 2006 in china,including hong kong and ma**,was about$18bn.overseas capital investment in mainland real estate was nearly$8.25bn,a 51.9 per cent increase from 2005.the national development and reform comm**sion reports,moreover,that foreign investment in real estate during the first quarter of 2007 was$1.7bn,up 154.4 per cent from the same period the previous year.
notably,the investments include some made by new entrants,including private equity shops,and in new markets,such as the“tier ii”cities of **,wuhan and tianjin.
f**ourable shifts in the underlying legal infrastructure are afoot.the property law adopted last month for the first time expressly,if tersely,acknowledges that both collective and private ownership of chinese real property ** protected by law.
practically,the regulatory regime ** still daunting,especially for the soph**ticated,iterative investment programme elsewhere typical of the hospitality and retail sectors and certain types of investors,such as real estate investment trusts.
a foreign investment in chinese property generally now may be conducted only through a china-domiciled foreign invested real property company.although 100 per cent foreign ownership ** permitted,formation – and thus the proposed business scope – requires approval by the ndrc and the min**try of commerce.
local ndrc and mofcom approvals generally suffice where total investment ** expected to be less than$100m and ordinarily can be obtained in four months.if greater,central agency approval ** required,typically resulting in additional delay.
both local and central approvals tend to be project-specific,thus implying a potentially serious approval burden for a multi-property investment strategy,particularly if designed to develop over time in response to evolving opportunities.in practice local **s may require the formation of a local operating company to employ local staff,thus magnifying the potential admin**trative burden of a business plan with geographic breadth.
another challenge **“reg**tered capital”.under chinese law,a foreign invested company must obtain approval from the ** for the initial amount of contributed equity to be invested and each subsequent addition.
because each such approval typically requires an additional two to four months to obtain,careful planning ** required and transitory investment opportunities can be lost.without rarely granted special approval,reg**tered capital may not be withdrawn prior to liquidation.
as in other markets,foreign property investors in china can overcome certain challenges and mitigate r**ks with appropriate legal structures.the r**k of over-funding non-withdrawable equity,for example,can be reduced by purchasing each property with a separate foreign invested company capital**ed only to the extent necessary for that project.
the r**k of even that amount of“reg**tered capital”becoming“trapped cash”until liquidation – a frequent pricing **sue in global buyouts involving chinese assets – can be minim**ed with the use of appropriately structured shareholder loans.(subject to reg**tration of the loan agreement with the state admin**tration of foreign exchange,such a loan can be repaid at any time).
although any legal strategy may entail r**ks and must be carefully tailored to the respective business plan,creative commercial adv**ers can usually add value to the status quo in a he**ily regulated environment.
although the potential rewards may be immense,the regulatory regime applicable to foreign investment in chinese real estate ** still in transition.
to maxim**e opportunities in th** market,foreign investors will require a flexible approach and adv**ers skilled not only in articulating the law and its impact on potential business,but also in analog**ing from other markets and innovating bespoke solutions from d**parate and shifting rules in th** one.
the authors are partners at kirkland&ell**