SOHO China says to sell Shanghai office building this month

SOHO China

08/03/2016 09:03

HONG KONG, March 8 (Reuters) - Commercial property developer 
SOHO China Ltd  0410.HK  said on Tuesday it will put up for sale 
a Shanghai office building this month to tap surging demand for 
property in the city. 
    SOHO China had shifted its business from sales to renting 
properties four years ago, but executives said the deal would 
help it take advantage of high valuations in Shanghai. 
    Frenzied buying in the city just months after China's frothy 
stock markets crashed has raised fears about a replay of the 
real estate bust that has hit economic growth.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N16B1FO 
    SOHO China will put up for sale the 42,000 square meter-Soho 
Century Plaza in Shanghai at the end of March, Chairman Pan 
Shiyi told reporters, without giving a target price.  
    "We decided to sell some of the sophisticated projects, 
those non-core assets outside the (Shanghai) bund or Beijing's 
CBD (central business district)," said Pan. "It's better to earn 
some money while the market is good." 
    SOHO China reported a net profit excluding net valuation 
gains on investment properties of 423 million yuan ($65.03 
million) in 2015, 76 percent lower than 2014, as revenue from 
office sales continued to drop.     
    In 2012, the company said it was changing its business model 
to build-and-hold from build-and-sell in order to maintain a 
more stable income stream from rents rather than property sales. 
    SOHO China Chief Executive Officer Zhang Xin declined to 
comment on whether a bubble was forming in China's major cities, 
but said asset prices would inevitably increase in a low 
interest rate environment. 
($1 = 6.5048 Chinese yuan renminbi) 
 
 (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Miral Fahmy) 
 ((clare.jim@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2912 6653; Reuters 
Messaging: clare.jim.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: SOHO CHINA PROPERTY/SALE