China's Crackdown Puts Teeth Into Effort to Cool Property Boom
SHANGHAI, China -- China's central government said it has dispatched senior inspectors nationwide to check whether local authorities are following through on orders to cool real-estate prices, the latest development in Shanghai's widening pension and property scandal.
On Thursday, the State Council, China's highest administrative body, sent "high-level officials" from several ministries to 11 provinces to review adherence by local governments to various policies Beijing has set down since 2003, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Despite the central government's efforts to cool housing prices, values have continued to soar as much as 20% annually in some places, according to Xinhua.
The latest inspection is further indication that the government's investigation into corruption is continuing, even after this week's ouster of Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Liangyu. The Construction Ministry sent six property inspectors to Shanghai after his dismissal was announced Monday.
Also on Thursday, Sun Luyi, secretary-general of the party's Shanghai Municipal Committee, became at least the eighth person detained for questioning on what a government spokesman said is suspicion of "a severe breach of discipline."
CAUGHT IN PROBE
Some of the people detained in the investigation of the misuse of Shanghai's pension fund
Aug. 9, 2006: Zhu Junyi, 55, head of Shanghai Municipal Labor and Social Security Bureau. Allegations: bribery and "grave breach of discipline."
Aug. 17: Zhang Rongkun, 33, head of privately owned toll-road group Fuxi Investment Holding. Allegations: unclear violations related to a loan from the fund.
Aug. 24: Qin Yu; deputy party secretary of Baoshan, Shanghai. Allegations: unspecified misuse of the fund.
Aug. 14: Wang Chengming, 58, chairman of machinery maker Shanghai Electric Group. Allegations: unclear.
Aug. 14: Han Guozhang, 58, director of Shanghai Electric Group. Allegations: unclear.
Sept. 1: Wu Minglie, chairman of government-owned property developer, New Huangpu Group. Allegations: unclear.
Sept. 24: Chen Liangyu, 59, party secretary of Shanghai Municipal government. Allegations: corruption involving the fund, plus other "discipline violation" such as helping interests of family, friends and "illegal businesspeople."
Sept. 28: Sun Luyi, 52, deputy secretary-general of Shanghai Municipal Committee. Allegation: "severe breach of discipline."
Sources: Xinhua News Agency, Company reports, WSJ researchReal estate is increasingly central to the two-month investigation, which centers on a misuse of Shanghai's $1.2 billion pension fund. The fund invested, perhaps illegally, in a number of high-profile projects that likely served to inflate land prices at a time when authorities in Beijing were urging local officials to keep real estate affordable.
Chinese President Hu Jintao may also be using the pension probe to strengthen his grip on Shanghai, a major city that has traditionally been run by officials aligned with retired President Jiang Zemin.
The downfall of Mr. Chen and the ongoing probes have boosted hopes for changes in government and prompted unusually large public protests outside some official Shanghai offices this week by people trying to have various complaints addressed.
The problems in Shanghai have sparked a nationwide audit of pension funds, which are often managed by local banks and brokerages but are thought to have widely invested beyond the legal scope. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. and China Everbright Bank say they are among those that have managed Shanghai's money.
A Hong Kong real-estate builder, Shui On Land Ltd., this week detailed how it was pledged nearly $190 million from the Shanghai pension fund to a build a big project in the city.
Shui On said one of its subsidiaries had drawn 875 million yuan ($111 million) of a 1.5 billion yuan loan facility to finance its "Shanghai Knowledge and Innovation Community" project, an 840,000 square meter technology-development zone near Shanghai universities that company materials say is designed to be a local version of California's Silicon Valley. The money originated at an enterprise investment company owned by the pension fund but was actually lent via Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Shui On said.
Shui On, which is known for its development of a Shanghai entertainment zone called Xintiandi, had confirmed some aspects of the arrangement in response to questions earlier in September from The Wall Street Journal. The extra details were contained in a prospectus related to its plans for an initial public offering in Hong Kong.
Analysts say the $790 million equity sale will succeed, but the stock could suffer when it is listed Oct. 4.
Shui On said in the prospectus that its lawyers believe the borrowing arrangement involving the pension money was "legal, valid and binding" but also warned investors that the company or its officials may "become involved" in the investigation, and that the Knowledge project "may face unpredictable consequences." The company said it is now negotiating alternative sources of financing for the project.
中国调查各地房地产价格情况
中国中央政府表示，它已向全国各地派出高级别官员，就各地方政府落实中央关于抑制房地产价格指示的情况进行调查。此举表明，对上海社保资金及房地产一案的调查正在进一步扩大。
相关报导
? 上海社保基金案涉案高官落马
? 上海社保案凸显中国社会保障软肋
? 中央调查组启动上海反腐败调查
中国官方媒体新华社报导说，周四，中国国务院向11个省派出了从中央几家部委抽调的高级别官员，对中央政府自2003年以来颁布的各项政策的落实情况进行检查。
报导说，尽管中国制定了多项旨在降低住房价格的措施，但各地房价仍不断上升，有些地方一年的升幅高达20%。
最新这次检查进一步表明，在解除原上海市委书记陈良宇的职务之后，政府对腐败问题的调查还在继续。周一宣布有关陈良宇的决定后，建设部向上海派出了六位调查员。
周四，原上海市委副秘书长孙路一被拘捕，据上海市政府发言人说，孙涉嫌“严重违纪”。在他之前，至少有七人因相关问题被拘。
在围绕上海社保资金案展开的为期两个月的调查中，房地产已成为调查的核心问题。据信，上海市总额达12亿美元的社保资金在很多知名房地产项目上都有投资，而且投资过程中还可能存在不法行为。在中央政府三令五申要求各地抑制房地产价格的时候，这种违背中央精神的做法很可能起到了进一步推高房价的不良作用。
这次对上海社保基金案的调查或许也是中央政府为加强对上海的控制而采取的行动。这座城市长期以来一直由跟江泽民站在“一条线”上的官员掌管。
陈良宇下台以及正在进行的调查让人们感到，政府这次可能会作出重大调整，而这周上海一些政府办公室外也聚集了大量抗议的公众，他们希望新形势能有助于解决他们由来已久的“积怨”。
在上海社保案事发之后，中央在全国各地对社保基金进行审计。地方社保资金大多由当地银行和证券经纪机构管理，不过人们普遍认为，这些资金大量参与了法定投资范围之外的投资项目。上海浦东发展银行(Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co.)和中国光大银行(China Everbright Bank)都表示，他们参与了上海社保资金的管理事务。
香港房地产开发商瑞安房地产有限公司(Shui On Land Ltd.)本周透露，它曾从上海社保中心获得近1.9亿美元贷款，用于在上海建设一个大型地产项目。
瑞安公司说，它的一家子公司从一笔15亿元人民币的信贷额度中获得8.75亿元，用于建设上海创智天地项目。该项目是一个占地84万平方米的科技开发区，位于上海大专院校集中区附近。据瑞安公司的资料说，该项目将成为上海版的“美国硅谷”。该公司说，上述资金原属于社保基金下属的一家企业投资公司，但通过浦东发展银行贷给了它。
瑞安公司本月早些时候在接受《华尔街日报》采访时曾证实了上述资金安排的某些细节。在该公司为在香港首次公开募股制作的招股书中还介绍了其他细节。瑞安公司因其在上海开发的新天地项目而名噪一时。
分析师们认为，该公司应能顺利募股，不过其首日上市交易时的价格走势可能不会太理想。该公司计划募集资金7.9亿美元。
瑞安的招股书中说，公司律师相信，其从社保基金借款的相关手续是合法有效且具法律约束力的，但它也提醒投资者，公司或其管理人士或许会卷入调查，创智天地项目有可能受到难以预料的影响。该公司表示，目前它正在就为项目寻找其他融资渠道进行磋商。
James T. Areddy
