Guangzhou cracks down on foreign land buyers

Officials in China’s southern city of Guangzhou are curbing foreign purchases of commercial real estate, The Wall Street Journal reported. The crackdown entails tougher enforcement of existing laws that ban foreign individuals from buying retail real estate, rather than any new legislation. Foreign enterprises, including those from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, are still allowed to buy and develop retail businesses. Investors and developers began shifting investment towards the less-regulated commercial property sector after a crackdown on the residential property market began in 2010. Simon Lam, head of retail at Jones Lang LaSalle’s Guangzhou branch, noted that restrictions on foreign buyers may only exert small impact over real estate prices. Many speculative buyers are from the Chinese mainland, and so taxation would likely have a more significant effect on lowering speculation, he said.