Economy

China realty still a good bet

By Li Xiang (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-22 09:53

An office block under construction in the Pudong area of Shanghai. [Bloomberg]

Property mart attractive due to nation's rapid urbanization, says JPMorgan

BEIJING - China's property market remains an attractive place to invest despite recent tightening measures, said Fang Fang, JPMorgan's vice-chairman of Asia investment banking.

"As far as we know, global investors are still willing to invest in China's property market as they are betting on the long-term growth prospects of the Chinese economy," Fang said at a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

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Fang noted that Beijing's measures to curb speculation will benefit the country's real estate sector in the long run. In addition, global investors still view the Chinese property market as an attractive investment option given the country's rapid urbanization and strong economic fundamentals.

Earlier this month, JPMorgan was hired to underwrite the $900 million perpetual convertible securities offering for Sino-Ocean Land Holding Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed property developer. The securities sale of Sino-Ocean Land is the largest of its kind in Asia.

"The case reflected investors' continued confidence in the long-term profitability of China's real estate industry as they gave a vote of confidence through the capital in their hands," Fang said.

JPMorgan's second-quarter net income soared 76 percent to $4.8 billion, a better-than-expected result helped by the reduction in loan losses which offset a difficult spring in trading and investment banking.

Earnings per share also rose to $1.09 in the second quarter, compared with $0.28 in the same period last year.

Retail banking profits recovered to $1 billion from just $15 million the year before while its investment-banking arm saw profit decline 6.1 percent as revenue decreased 13 percent.

JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon was quoted recently as saying that the recovery was under way and the improving credit conditions and consumer lending business had helped lift the bank's quarterly results.

But he warned that losses from bad consumer loans remained at "extremely high levels" and returns from consumer-lending businesses remained unacceptable.

In the meantime, many uncertainties remain which may result in unintended consequences for the markets and the banking businesses, he said.