Top developers turn to overseas funding

Ten benchmark Chinese property companies raised 74 billion yuan ($12.1 billion) overseas in the first 10 months of this year, accounting for 66.6 percent of the total capital they raised, real estate agency Centaline Group said.

The companies raised a total of 111.15 billion yuan in all markets.

Zhang Dawei, senior analyst at Centaline, said that since May, overseas financing by real estate companies had increased markedly and the cost of that financing had risen to more than 7 percent.

Li Chunliang, senior consultant at Shenzhen Saipu Management Consultancy Co Ltd, told the National Business Daily that overseas financing has become dominant because the domestic channels for raising capital are more costly and difficult to access. Even if developers are willing to pay high financing costs, they will still find it hard to borrow, so medium-sized to large real estate companies borrow overseas, Li said. Small companies are often shut out of both markets.

The 10 companies are Vanke Co Ltd, Poly Real Estate Group, China Merchants Property Development Co Ltd, Gemdale Group, Agile Property Holdings Ltd, China Overseas Land and Investment Ltd, Evergrande Real Estate Group, R & F Properties Co Ltd, Greentown China Holdings Ltd and China Resources Land Ltd.