中國內地開發商推高香港地價
Hong Kong developers are unable to compete with their big-spending mainland Chinese rivals, one of the territory’s wealthiest tycoons has warned, as property prices in the world’s least affordable market surge to ever higher levels.
香港最富有的大亨之一警告稱，香港開發商無法與內地大手筆的競爭對手競爭。目前這個全球購房最不容易的市場的房價飆升至越來越高的水平。
Lui Che-woo this month lost out in an auction for a Hong Kong site that was acquired by a subsidiary of HNA, the acquisitive mainland conglomerate, at double the price paid for a similar site in 2014.
呂志和(Lui Che-woo)本月在競拍香港一地塊時敗給了收購意識較強的內地綜合企業海航集團(HNA Group)的一家子公司，後者的出價是2014年類似地塊價格的兩倍。
The site went for HK$13,500 ($1,740) per square foot — similar to the going rate for completed apartments nearby.
該地塊售價達每平方英尺1.35萬港元（合1740美元），相當於附近已完工公寓的市價。
It is hard for local businesses like us to chase after that, Mr Lui, a property and casino magnate worth more than US$11bn, according to Forbes, told the Financial Times.
呂志和向英國《金融時報》表示：像我們這樣的本地企業很難競拍這種地。《福布斯》(Forbes)數據顯示，房地產和博彩業大亨呂志和的身價超過110億美元。
Mainland companies have the ability to do it but we don’t.
內地公司有能力競拍，但我們不行。
Surging home sales to wealthy Chinese investors have sparked concerns of market distortion in global cities from Vancouver and Sydney, to New York and London.
在從溫哥華和悉尼到紐約和倫敦等全球城市，銷售給富裕中國投資者的住房激增引發了人們對市場扭曲的擔憂。
Now China’s developers are also getting in on the act, with a sharp rise in land acquisitions in Hong Kong prompted by the falling value of the renminbi, a desire to move capital out of the mainland and increasing curbs on property investment at home.
現在中國的開發商也參與進來，由於人民幣貶值、人們有意將資本轉移出內地以及政府加大遏制內地房地產投資，內地開發商在香港買下的地塊急劇增長。
Mainland developers acquired 44 per cent of the residential land sold by the Hong Kong government last year, up from just 7 per cent in 2012, according to calculations by Spacious, a property listings website.
房地產信息服務網站千居(Spacious)估計，在香港政府去年出售的住宅用地中，內地開發商佔到了44%，而2012年的該比例只有7%。
In the year to date, mainland companies have bought 39 per cent of the land auctioned.
今年迄今，內地公司收購了39%的拍賣土地。
In addition to the devaluation of the renminbi, Chinese developers are being driven by lower taxes in Hong Kong, high land prices in the mainland and easier access to finance in Hong Kong compared to other overseas markets, said James Fisher, director of market analysis at Spacious.
千居市場研究總監詹姆斯.費希爾(James Fisher)表示：除了人民幣貶值以外，中國開發商在香港大量拿地的原因還有香港稅率較低、內地土地價格高企以及與其他海外市場相比，在香港更容易獲得融資。
Hong Kong, a densely populated, semi-autonomous territory of 7m people, has seen its property market heat up despite a deteriorating economic outlook.
香港是一個擁有700萬人口的人口密集的特別行政區，儘管該地區經濟前景惡化，但房地產市場日益升溫。
After a brief dip, residential property prices have rebounded to near the record hit in September last year, according to government data.
政府數據顯示，在短暫下跌之後，住房價格已反彈，逼近去年9月創出的最高紀錄。
The weakening renminbi and the search for higher investment returns offshore have funnelled money into Hong Kong’s residential and office markets, with leading mainland companies Evergrande and Everbright spending more than US$1bn to acquire skyscrapers in Hong Kong this year.
人民幣貶值以及投資者希望尋找境外較高的投資回報，促使資金流入了香港的住宅和寫字樓市場，今年內地領先公司恆大(Evergrande)和光大(Everbright)斥資逾10億美元收購了香港的摩天大樓。
Inflows from the mainland made Hong Kong the second most active commercial property market in Asia after Tokyo in the first half of this year, with US$6.8bn of deals, up 17 per cent on the previous year, according to PwC, the financial services group, and the Urban Land Institute, a research body.
金融服務集團普華永道(PwC)和研究機構——城市土地研究所(Urban Land Institute)的數據顯示，今年上半年，內地資金流入使香港成爲僅次於東京的亞洲第二大活躍的商業地產市場，交易金額達68億美元，同比增長17%。
At the same time, commercial rents have continued to surge because of interest from mainland companies.
與此同時，由於來自內地公司的興趣上升，商業租金繼續飆升。
Office space in the upper floors in prime skyscrapers leases for US$278.5 per square foot, the most expensive rate in the world and nearly double the cost of the second and third most expensive cities, Tokyo and New York.
香港高端摩天大樓較高樓層的辦公室租金達到每平方英尺278.5美元，這是全球最貴的，幾乎是第二貴城市東京和第三貴城市紐約的兩倍。
Some mainland investors simply think it is nice to have something in a major financial centre like Hong Kong, especially if they can find an iconic building and attach their name to it, said KK So, an expert in real estate and tax at PwC.
普華永道(PwC)房地產和稅務專家蘇國基(KK So)表示：一些內地投資者認爲，在香港這樣的大型金融中心擁有一些房產是不錯的，特別是如果他們能夠找到標誌性的大樓、然後把自己的名字與之相連的話。
Mr Lui said the high cost of housing was the biggest issue facing Hong Kong but he was not sure if the government’s recent decision to increase stamp duty for second-home buyers would have the desired effect of stabilising the market.
呂志和表示，房價高企是香港面臨的最大問題，但他不確定，政府最近做出的對二手房購買者提高印花稅的決定，是否將起到理想的穩定市場的作用。
I need to wait and see for the next few months, he said.
他表示：我需要觀察未來幾個月的情況。
Mr So also remains to be convinced.
蘇國基也不確定。
The government is trying to reassure Hong Kong people that there will be a steady supply of property in the coming few years, he said.
他表示：政府正試圖安撫香港市民，稱未來幾年房地產供應將保持穩定。
But is it good enough to satisfy the demand out there from local home buyers, locals with investment needs and overseas investors, particularly those from the mainland?
但這些足夠滿足本地購房者、有着投資需求的本地人以及海外投資者（尤其是來自內地的投資者）的需求嗎？
