GRA Market Weekly (2025-09-19)

Macro Policy

SAFE: payment facilitation for eligible foreign buyers purchasing homes in China

On 15 September, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) issued the Notice on Deepening the Reform of Foreign Exchange Administration for Cross-border Investment and Financing, which facilitates FX settlement for home purchases by foreign individuals. Provided they meet the eligibility requirements of housing authorities and local purchase rules, foreign individuals may settle and pay the FX funds involved in a home purchase at a bank on the strength of the purchase contract or agreement, before obtaining the purchase filing certificate from the housing authority, and submit the filing certificate to the bank afterwards. The facilitation does not change the policy framework governing home purchases by foreign individuals in China.

Targeted Policies

Shanghai optimises its individual residential property tax pilot

On 19 September, Shanghai optimised and adjusted its individual residential property tax pilot policies. Key provisions:

• For high-calibre talent and talent in urgent demand in key industries introduced in accordance with national and municipal rules who hold a Shanghai residence permit and work and live in the city, and for buyers who have held a Shanghai residence permit for three full years and work and live in the city, a newly purchased home that constitutes the family's first home is provisionally exempt from property tax. For a newly purchased home that constitutes the family's second or subsequent home, if the family's aggregate housing floor area (GFA basis, likewise below) does not exceed 60 sqm per capita (the tax-exempt housing area, 60 sqm inclusive), the new purchase is provisionally exempt; where per-capita area exceeds 60 sqm, property tax is levied under the interim measures on the excess portion of the newly purchased home.
• For buyers who have held a Shanghai residence permit for less than three years, property tax on such homes is first levied under the interim measures; once the buyer has held the permit for three full years and works and lives in the city, tax already levied during the permit-holding period on the home and area qualifying for exemption under the first provision may be refunded.

Market Watch

Hangzhou: land auction fetches RMB 2.123 bn; Yuexiu and Xingyao take one plot each

On 16 September, Hangzhou sold two residential-use plots in the Kangqiao unit of Gongshu District and the Yuancheng unit of Qiantang District, with a combined site area of 72,800 sqm, planned GFA of 146,000 sqm and a combined starting price of c. RMB 1.843 bn. Both plots cleared at a premium, for total proceeds of RMB 2.123 bn.

Ningbo: CICC-Vipshop Outlets REIT lists

On 12 September, the CICC-Vipshop Outlets closed-end infrastructure REIT (the "CICC-Vipshop Outlets REIT", code 508082) listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The REIT issued 1 bn units at RMB 3.480 per unit, raising RMB 3.48 bn in total. The underlying asset is the Shanjing Outlets project in Ningbo, developed in three phases with total GFA of c. 104,300 sqm, combining open-air retail streets with indoor halls. In stable operation for c. 14 years since Phase 1 opened in 2011, it is Shanshan Commercial's first outlet project and the representative quality outlet asset within its portfolio. Located in Haishu District adjacent to Ningbo Lishe Airport with convenient transport links, the project covers essentially all of Ningbo's main urban area within a 30-minute drive, giving it a wide catchment and strong customer draw. Operations are solid overall: operating revenue grew at an 8.7% CAGR over 2022-2024, occupancy stayed above 97%, and monthly rental efficiency was c. RMB 394/sqm/month in Q1 2025 - among the highest of listed consumption REITs.

Project Watch

Shanghai: Putuo village-collective enterprise acquires Tower T1 of Shanghai Xintai Center for c. RMB 2.168 bn

Market sources report another blockbuster en-bloc deal in Shanghai's office market: a village-collective enterprise under Changzheng Town, Putuo District paid nearly RMB 2.2 bn for the T1 office tower of Shanghai Xintai Center. Located at 1428 Daduhe Road, Putuo District, directly above Meiling North Road station on Metro Line 15, the complex has total GFA of 385,000 sqm, comprising c. 158,000 sqm of twin towers, three standalone corporate headquarters buildings totalling c. 53,000 sqm, a Holiday Inn hotel, twelve 900-1,300 sqm Shanghai-style commercial villas, 67,000 sqm of supporting retail and 2,394 parking spaces. Established new-economy companies including eHi Car Services and Guxing E-commerce have already purchased Towers T3 and T4 as headquarters. The deal ranks among Shanghai's largest office acquisitions of 2025.

Beijing: JD.com's JD YOUNG intern apartments come into service

JD.com's JD YOUNG (JDY) intern apartments at its Beijing headquarters have officially come into service, opening in batches for interns to stay free of charge. Units are fully furnished and appliance-equipped for move-in-ready living. The campus features over 5,000 sqm of retail space, already home to coffee shops, convenience stores, hair salons, party venues and other supporting amenities.

Wuxi: affordable rental supply accelerates as a government-enterprise partnership eases talent housing

On 15 September, Wuxi Xifa Holdings Group announced a renewed partnership with Erjia Commercial Management, launching the first batch of 110 affordable rental housing units at the second Livat store location, with occupancy reaching 97% within a short period. In 2024, Xifa Group first partnered with Erjia Commercial under a "government-led + SOE-backed + market-operated" model to create the Erjia Community Xishan Livat affordable rental project, whose occupancy climbed steadily to 98% after launch.

Corporate Watch

Chicmax signs 35,000 sqm whole-building office lease at DREAM LIVE

Domestic beauty giant Chicmax (Shangmei Co.) has formally signed a whole-building office lease at DREAM LIVE, taking c. 35,000 sqm - one of Shanghai's largest office leasing transactions since 2023 and the largest office lease in Shanghai so far in 2025. DREAM LIVE sits in the core inner-middle ring area of Xuhui District, at the eastern gateway of Caohejing - only c. 2.5 km from the Xujiahui central business district and c. 2.2 km from the Shanghai South Railway Station transport hub, adjacent to international communities including Xijiao, Gubei and Xuhui Riverside, making it one of the industry-city integrated complexes closest to the city centre. The project sits above Guilin Road station on Metro Lines 9 and 15, with four metro entrances. With a total volume of c. 600,000 sqm spanning three formats - 240,000 sqm of R&D offices, 100,000 sqm of panoramic retail and 90,000 sqm of rental housing - it is one of the largest urban complexes in Xuhui District to date.

China Merchants Commercial Management signs strategic cooperation agreement with CDF Trading

On 17 September, China Merchants Commercial Management and China Duty Free's trading arm signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement in Beijing, covering culture-commerce-tourism project development and operations, travel retail, and format innovation and traffic enablement for existing properties. Under the agreement, the first phase centres on deep cooperation over Plot 5 of Xiamen Sea World, integrating CMCM's comprehensive development and operating capabilities with CDF's core strengths in duty-free, travel retail and international brand resources - pursuing precise positioning, unified planning and integrated operation of the project, and jointly exploring multiple operating models for a win-win outcome. The parties will also progressively extend deep cooperation to key culture-commerce-tourism projects under CMCM, including Shenzhen's Prince Bay area and Shanghai Sea World, tailoring differentiated schemes project by project to jointly create city-level commercial landmarks.

CIFI: RMB 10 bn+ onshore bond restructuring approved by bondholder vote

On 15 September, the holistic restructuring plan for seven of CIFI Group's onshore public-market bonds, involving c. RMB 10.06 bn in aggregate, was approved at bondholder meetings. Since publishing its onshore bond restructuring framework on 23 May, the company has engaged proactively with investors to seek understanding and support. After fully canvassing feedback from investors, it did its utmost and released an optimised plan on 8 July - raising the cash repayment ratio to 20%, the debt-for-asset settlement ratio to 40% and the cap on new share placement to 1.02 bn shares, and shortening the retained-debt extension to 7-8 years - seeking investor support with a pragmatic, sincere proposal. After nearly four months of effort, CIFI's RMB 10 bn+ onshore debt restructuring finally passed, reflecting investor confidence in the company's operational recovery and long-term prospects. The outcome should meaningfully ease future liquidity pressure, reduce the debt burden, improve the overall financial position and balance sheet, and create conditions for a gradual return to healthy development.

JD Property to acquire logistics assets for c. RMB 1.7 bn

On 7 September, multiple media sources disclosed that JD Property, JD.com's infrastructure investment and asset management platform, together with Switzerland's Partners Group and Hillhouse-backed Eza Hill, will acquire four Singapore logistics assets from CapitaLand Ascendas REIT for SGD 306 m (c. RMB 1.7 bn). The assets on offer are notable: an industrial property on Ubi Road, plus three logistics warehouses located on Changi South Street, at the Jurong East building (near the Tuas-Jurong industrial area) and on Pandan Avenue. Per CLAR's announcement, the price represents a 6% premium to the properties' aggregate market valuation and a 21% premium to the original purchase price, underscoring JD's conviction in the assets' value.

GLP closes latest income fund with investment scale of nearly RMB 2 bn

On 15 September, GLP announced the close of its latest China income fund, GLP China Income Fund XIV (CIF XIV), with an investment scale of nearly RMB 2 bn. The fund's investor is a leading international institution, with GLP acting as asset and fund manager. The fund will invest in five logistics warehousing and advanced-manufacturing infrastructure assets across core cities in South, East and Central China, mainly serving customers in third-party logistics, e-commerce retail, and automotive and parts industries.

Vanke: largest-ever reorganisation lands

On 17 September, Vanke updated the organisational structure and management team information on its official website, marking the completion of the largest reorganisation in its history, nearly a year in the making. Under the new structure, group headquarters is divided into a board office, a group office/Party-mass work department and 11 centres; the former regional tier is abolished entirely in favour of 16 city companies; and the eight business units, including property management, commercial and long-term rental apartments, remain unchanged.

Market Data

NBS: January-August real estate data analysis

First, the decline in property sales narrowed. In January-August, nationwide new commodity housing sales area fell 4.7% YoY, with the decline narrowing by 13.3 ppts from a year earlier and by 8.2 ppts from full-year 2024; sales value fell 7.3%, narrowing by 16.3 ppts and 9.8 ppts respectively. Sales area and value kept growing in some tier-1 and tier-2 cities.

Second, the YoY decline in new home prices narrowed. In August, among the 70 large and mid-sized cities, most saw narrower YoY declines in new commodity home prices, with tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 cities narrowing by 0.2, 0.4 and 0.5 ppts respectively from the prior month; second-hand home price declines in tier-2 and tier-3 cities both narrowed by 0.4 ppts.

Third, developer funding and inventories improved. Destocking advanced steadily, and developers' funding and inventory positions improved. On funding sources, developers' funds in place fell 8% YoY in January-August, with the decline narrowing by 12.2 ppts from a year earlier and 9 ppts from full-year 2024. On inventory, unsold commodity housing area at end-August was down 3.17 m sqm from end-July, the sixth consecutive monthly decline.