BEIJING: China Construction Bank Corp (CCB) chairman Guo Shuqing said on Tuesday, Nov 16 that he has not heard of any lending halt to property developers by banks.

He made his comments at a Beijing forum amid a recent series of media reports that banks had halted or slowed lending to property developers, as Beijing sought to cool the overheated real estate market.

BEIJING: China's four biggest banks will severely limit lending to property developers for the rest of year, but will not completely suspend such loans, an industry newspaper reported on Tuesday, Nov 16.

The report said over the weekend that the country's top banks had used up their full-year quotas for lending to developers and were no longer issuing new loans.

DUBAI: The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) will host one of the largest international pavilions at the second edition of CityBuild Abu Dhabi, a business-to-business trade exhibition for the building and construction industry.

KUALA LUMPUR: SBC Corporation Bhd saw its net profit surge 60% to RM2.4 million for the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2010 from RM1.5 million a year ago, according to a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

The group posted a higher net profit despite a 21.2% lower revenue of RM20.58 million (compared with RM26.1 million).

On 12 Nov 2010, Bandar Raya Developments entered into a joint venture cum shareholders agreement with Country Heights Land SB to undertake the proposed development of 66 parcels of leasehold land in Bluwater Estate (The Mines, Seri Kembangan) expiring in 2091 measuring approximately 47.58 acres via the 75:25 JV company called Earth Pavilion SB (EPSB).

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi-based Tasweek Real Estate Development and Marketing recently explored the property and financial markets of Malaysia and Singapore to assess business opportunities and local market trends.

CYBERJAYA: IOI Properties Bhd has recently launched completed condominium units developed under the build-then-sell concept in Phase 3 of its Puteri Palma Condominium project in IOI Resort City, Cyberjaya.

MELBOURNE: Concerns are growing in rural areas of Australia as foreign government-backed entities buy up significant parcels of agricultural land.

More than A$9 billion (RM27.75 billion) of prized agricultural assets have been sold to offshore interests in the past two years alone, said The Daily Telegraph on Monday, Nov 15.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong could face heightened risks of a property bubble forming after the United States announced a second round of quantitative easing, Financial Secretary John Tsang said.

CHENGDU: The appetite for owning property remains undiminished on the mainland, despite saturation news coverage given to moves by the government to hose down demand and rein in prices.

Chengdu resident Liao Fan is among those who refuse to be frightened out of plans to buy property because of concerns that prices may fall under the weight of concerted policy measures.