I have now returned from my second visit to the Chinese mainland, from Zhuhai and from Shenzhen, both in Guangdong. On this occasion I opened another Chinese bank account, tried, unsuccessfully to obtain a mortgage on a property, obtained a Chinese Power of Attorney granting the right to a PRC national to act on my behalf in matters relating to the purchase and financing of residential real estate, and got myself a notarized Chinese name (He Ming Wei), which I'd love to be able to type in Chinese but can't. I also learned that lawyers' fees seem expensive compared to all other costs of doing business, even in China.
I also discovered how it is possible for me, as a foreigner, to trade on the various PRC stock exchanges, over the internet, I opened a HK bank account with 24-hour phone and web access, with multi-currency (including RMB) facilities. I discovered that it is in fact possible to obtain credit on wholly-owned properties in China, that there a number of Chinese banks that have internet banking (including the Guangdong Development Bank, now owned by Citibank).
I also was lead to believe that a HK-registered company was treated for many purposes as a PRC national for the purpose of owning property. This is something I need to verify, as the exact status of HK companies and residents is, I found, difficult to pin down.
I negotiated a lease on one of my properties with a State Owned Enterprise that wished to become the tenant of the office that they had previously occupied as an owner. The lease was, to me, pretty much the same as a commercial lease in the UK but was, if anything, more favourable to the landlord. For example the interest penalty on late payment of rent was set at 1% per day and the total number of days' arrears that the tenant was permitted to accrued during the course of a year was only fifteen. I am assured that all leases, commercial and residential, have to be registered with the appropriate registry which will somehow help in the event that the rent is late.
I had several interesting discussions on where in China was best to invest. Chongqing came up several times, as did Chengdu. One person even suggested that I would be better off investing in Guangzhou. My own instinct is that Chongqing is the most promising alternative to Zhuhai, but that the connections I have built up with the latter currently outweigh the higher capital growth that might be available in the former, although I will keep an open mind for the moment. The critical issue for me is the scale of my Chinese property investments. As I have already indicated, I am actively seeking to recruit a syndicate who would be prepared to enter into a pooled investment with me, and investors who wish to purchase as individuals but would like me to act as an agent to arrange the legal paperwork required to register properties in their own name.
