中国人大财经委副主任警示地产风险

A top Chinese lawmaker has warned that profiteering by real estate developers is sapping the lifeblood from China’s economy, as authorities make efforts to contain runaway property prices.

中国最高立法机关的一位代表警告称，房地产开发商牟取暴利的行为正在削弱中国经济的生命力。目前，中国当局正在采取措施努力遏制失控的房价。

Strong growth of real estate prices, sales and construction has powered China’s economy this year, putting gross domestic product on the path to its first annual growth acceleration since 2010.

今年以来，房地产价格、销售和建设活动的强劲增长推动了中国经济增长，使国内生产总值(GDP)有望实现自2010年以来的首次年度增长加速。

Meanwhile, an index of Hong Kong-listed mainland property shares has risen 68 per cent this year, propelling property tycoons such as Evergrande Group’s Hui Ka Yan up the ranks of China’s rich list, despite his company’s heavy debt load.

与此同时，一项涵盖在香港上市的内地房地产公司的股票指数今年已上涨68%，推升了恒大集团(Evergrande Group)董事长许家印(Hui Ka Yan)等地产大亨在中国富豪榜上的排名——尽管许家印的公司负债严重。

But authorities are increasingly concerned that the reliance on property for growth is fuelling financial risk and encouraging speculation rather than investment in the real economy.

但当局越来越担心，经济增长对房地产的依赖正在助长金融风险，而且鼓励的是投机，而非对实体经济的投资。

“The real estate industry’s excessive prosperity has not only kidnapped local governments but also kidnapped financial institutions — restraining and even harming the development of the real economy, inflating asset bubbles and accumulating debt risk,” Yin Zhongqing, deputy director of the finance and economics committee of the National People’s Congress, said in a speech on Thursday.

全国人大财经委员会副主任尹中卿周四在一场演讲中表示：“房地产业的过度繁荣不仅绑架了地方政府，也绑架了金融机构，抑制甚至损害了实体经济的发展，吹大了资产泡沫，积累了欠债风险。”

“The biggest problem currently facing the country is how to reduce reliance on real estate,” he added.

“当前我国面临的最大难题就是如何减少经济增长对房地产的依赖，”他补充说。

Some Beijing banks are preparing to raise interest rates on home mortgages for first-time buyers, Hexun, a local news website, reported on Thursday. Big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have seen the fastest price rises during the past 18 months.

中国本地新闻网站和讯(Hexun)周四报道称，北京部分银行正准备上调针对首次购房者的住房抵押贷款利率。过去18个月内，北京、上海和深圳等大城市出现了有史以来最迅猛的房价上涨。

Previous rounds of tightening have focused on second-time buyers. A move to cut credit to first-home purchases would mark an escalation in efforts to restrain prices. But analysts say that Beijing will be careful not to strangle the market, given its importance to the broader economy.

前几轮调控针对的都是二套房购买者。收紧首套房贷的举措标志着遏制房价过快上涨努力的升级。但分析师表示，鉴于房地产对中国整体经济的重要性，中国政府将谨慎行事，以免扼杀这一市场。

“The goal of property control policies is to stabilise the market, not to send it into a stupor,” said Yan Yuejin, research director of E-house China R&D Institute.

“房地产调控政策的目标是稳定房地产市场，而非让其陷入停顿，”易居房地产研究院(E-house China R&D Institute)研究总监严跃进表示。

Longstanding efforts to implement a property holding tax have stalled in the face of political opposition from homeowners.

由于房产所有者在政治上的反对，实施房产税的长期努力已陷入停滞。

A parallel effort to deal with housing affordability is focused on developing the Chinese rental market. China’s households are traditionally reluctant to rent apartments because of concern over a lack of stability and a belief that spending on rent is a wasteful alternative to building home equity.

解决住房负担能力的另一项努力着眼于发展住房租赁市场。中国家庭传统上不愿意租房居住，原因是担心不稳定，而且认为相对于拥有房产，花钱租房是一种不经济的选择。

But beyond such cultural barriers, Chinese rental markets are often dysfunctional. Unscrupulous property agents post fake rental advertisements and demand large commissions.

但除了此类文化障碍之外，中国的住房租赁市场还常常无法正常运转。不良房产中介发布虚假房屋出租信息，并索取不菲佣金。

The Hangzhou city housing bureau this week said it was joining with online shopping group Alibaba, which is based in Hangzhou, to create the country’s first smart housing rental platform. Hangzhou is one of 12 cities that the housing ministry selected last month for a pilot project to improve local rental markets.

本周，杭州市住房保障和房产管理局宣布，将与总部位于杭州的电子商务集团阿里巴巴(Alibaba)联手打造中国首个智慧住房租赁平台。杭州是中国住建部为改善地方住房租赁市场选定的12个试点城市之一。

Alibaba will partner with its financial affiliate, Ant Financial to create a consolidated database of rental units from public housing, real estate developers, real estate agents and individuals.

阿里巴巴将与旗下金融关联公司蚂蚁金服(Ant Financial)合作，创建一个包括公共住房以及来自开发商、房地产中介和个人的房源的综合数据库。

Sesame Credit, Ant Financial’s credit ratings unit, will provide data to enable some flats to be rented with no security deposit. The ratings will also rely on buyer ratings on Taobao, Alibaba’s ecommerce platform.

蚂蚁金服的信用评级部门“芝麻信用”(Sesame Credit)将提供信用数据，使租客无需缴纳押金即可租住部分公寓。该评级还将依赖租客在阿里巴巴旗下电商平台淘宝(Taobao)上的买家评分。