中國地產商苦打價格戰

Chinese property developers are finding themselves forced to sacrifice profits to boost sales, as the downturn in the housing market saddles them with bulging inventories and limited access to new funding.

中國房地產開發商發現，他們不得不犧牲利潤以提振銷售，因爲房地產市場低迷讓他們積壓了越來越多庫存，同時獲取新融資的途徑十分有限。

Most listed mainland homebuilders recorded a steady rise in revenue last year, but sharp declines in profit for many are a symptom of aggressive price-cutting designed to shift stock and generate much-needed cash in the debt-laden sector.

內地大多數房地產上市公司發佈的財報顯示，去年收入增長穩定，但許多公司的利潤急劇下降，表明債務負擔沉重的房地產行業爲消化庫存和產生亟需的現金，採取了激進的降價措施。

Revenue at Agile Property increased 8 per cent in 2014, the company said in its latest earnings report yet profits sank 11 per cent. Profit fell by 15 per cent at Guangzhou R&F and by 8 per cent at Yuzhou Properties, even as both reported growth in sales.

雅居樂地產(Agile Property)最新發布的財報顯示，2014年公司收入同比增長8%，但利潤下降11%。廣州富力地產(Guangzhou R&F)全年利潤同比下降15%，禹洲地產(Yuzhou Properties)全年利潤同比下降8%，即便這兩家公司的銷售額全都出現增長。

“We expect prices will remain under pressure over the next few months as developers continue to offer price incentives for their projects,” Moody’s analysts wrote in a report.

穆迪(Moody's)的分析師在一份報告中寫道：“我們預計未來幾個月價格將依然承壓，因爲房地產開發商將繼續對旗下項目降價促銷。”

Margins at some of the more successful companies also have come under pressure. Country Garden’s income rose by more than a third last year, yet profit was up by only a fifth. Still, China Vanke — the country’s largest builder by sales — reports earnings on Monday, and is expected to show operating profit rising by over 30 per cent.

一些較爲成功的房地產企業的利潤率也在承壓。碧桂園(Country Garden)去年的收入增長了逾三分之一，然而利潤僅增長了五分之一。

Weakness in the housing market has been a key factor in China’s broad slowdown. The economy grew 7.4 per cent last year, the slowest pace in more than 20 years, as the government sought to reduce dependence on credit-fuelled construction. Overall home sales dropped 8 per cent last year, according to official figures.

房地產市場低迷是中國經濟全面放緩的關鍵因素。隨着中國政府尋求降低對信貸推動的建設活動的依賴，去年中國經濟增長7.4%，是20多年來的最低增速。

“With the downward pressure on the economy, the real estate industry will continue to undergo a period of profound correction,” said Cao He, chairman of Hong Kong-listed builder Franshion, in the company’s annual report. “Property developers will face challenges including shrinking profit margins and intensifying competition.”

在香港上市的房企方興地產(Franshion)的董事長何操表示：“隨着經濟下行壓力加大，房地產行業將繼續經歷一段深度修正期。房地產開發商將面臨包括利潤率下降和競爭加劇在內的種種挑戰。”

Kiyan Zandiyeh and Daili Wang of Roubini Global Economics warn that the current “supply glut” in Chinese housing is likely to get even more severe.

魯比尼全球經濟諮詢公司(Roubini Global Economics)的基揚•贊迪耶(Kiyan Zandiyeh)和Daili Wang警告稱，當前中國房產市場“供給過剩”的情況可能會變得更加嚴重。

“With companies trying to meet sales growth and defend market share, the incentive has been to keep building — meaning today’s excess supply in the market will only worsen,” they wrote in a report.

他們在報告中寫道：“房地產企業試圖實現銷售增長目標並且捍衛市場份額，所以它們有動力繼續造新房，這意味着今天市場上的供給過剩局面只會更加嚴重。”

“Developers will struggle with stronger headwinds from falling house prices, given that most of them are operating with unsustainable levels of inventory and debt.”

“鑑於大多數開發商有着不可持續的庫存和債務水平，它們將很難應對更爲猛烈的房價下跌勢頭。”

The sector has borrowed heavily in recent years from offshore bond markets, banks, and local investors. With cash needed for debt repayments and to finance existing projects, developers have been unable to wait for prices to recover.

房地產行業最近幾年一直從離岸債券市場、銀行和本地投資者那裏大舉借貸。由於急需現金償還債務和爲現有項目提供資金，房地產開發商無法等待價格回升。

Access to offshore funding has also been curbed this year by the dramatic fall of Kaisa, a Shenzhen-based developer. It is currently trying to restructure more than $10bn of onshore and offshore debts in order to secure a rescue by rival Sunac.

深圳房地產開發商佳兆業(Kaisa)今年引人注目的危機，也限制了中國房地產企業海外融資的能力。佳兆業目前正努力重組國內外逾100億美元的境內和境外債務，以獲得其競爭對手融創(Sunac)的接盤。

While some larger developers have been able to borrow in the US dollar debt markets, the fallout from Kaisa’s troubles has made it tougher for many smaller, junk-rated companies to get new financing.

儘管一些較大型的房地產開發商仍能在美元債券市場借貸，但佳兆業的困境帶來的影響，使得許多較小的、垃圾評級的公司更難獲得新的融資。

Total debt in the sector has jumped 280 per cent over the past five years, according to RGE research, with an increasingly large portion of it short-term borrowing. Top-rated developers raised $29bn in new offshore funding last year alone, according to Moody’s.

魯比尼全球經濟諮詢公司的研究報告顯示，中國房地產行業的債務總額在過去5年飆升280%，其中短期借款比例越來越高。穆迪的數據顯示，最高評級的房地產開發商僅去年就在離岸市場獲得了290億美元的新融資。

China’s government has pledged support for the housing market, and the central bank has cut interest rates twice over the past six months.

中國政府已承諾要爲房地產市場提供支持，中國央行過去6個月已兩次降息。