萬達推出"輕資產"戰略

Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties, China’s largest business property developer by sales, has signalled a shift in strategy a month after its $3.7bn listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

中國銷售額最大的商業地產開發商——大連萬達商業地產(Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties)在香港交易所(HKEx)完成37億美元上市一個月後，發出了戰略轉變的信號。

The group said it had signed an agreement with four Chinese investors to finance the construction of 26 new commercial developments — the first time it has brought in outside investors.

萬達集團稱，其已經與4家中國投資機構簽署一項協議，爲26個新商業開發項目的建設籌資——這是該集團首次引入外部投資機構。

Wanda said the Rmb24bn ($3.9bn) deal marked the “official launch of an asset-lite strategy” under which it will reduce its reliance on property sales in favour of a more rental-driven model. Income from the projects will be split 60-40 between the investors and Wanda, with the company promising an annual return of at least 7 per cent over the first 10 years.

萬達稱，這筆240億元人民幣（合39億美元）的交易標誌着“輕資產戰略的正式推出”，在這一戰略下，其將減少對地產銷售的依賴，轉向一種在更大程度上由租賃驅動的模式。這些項目的收入將在萬達和投資機構之間四六分成，萬達承諾在第一個10年期間達到至少7%的年回報率。

Like most Chinese property developers, Wanda is heavily reliant on unit sales, which accounted for more than 80 per cent of its revenue in 2013. Until now, all its developments have been financed using capital generated from previous sales, or with debt.

像大多數中國地產開發商一樣，萬達嚴重依賴地產銷售。2013年，地產銷售佔總收入的80%以上。此前其所有開發項目的資金都來自以前的銷售收入或債務。

Wanda’s move to bring in outside investors makes it one of the first Chinese developers to move towards the landlord model common in Singapore and Hong Kong.

萬達引入外部投資機構的做法，使其成爲中國首批轉向新加坡和香港常見的那種業主模式的開發商之一。

China Vanke, the country’s largest residential developer, has also taken steps to partner with financial investors. Hong Kong’s top developers — such as Sun Hung Kai, Henderson Land, and Wharf — derive less than half of their revenues from unit sales.

中國最大的住宅地產開發商萬科集團(China Vanke)也已着手與金融投資機構合作。香港頂級開發商——如新鴻基(Sun Hung Kai)、恆基地產(Henderson Land)以及九龍倉(Wharf Holdings)——地產銷售佔總收入不到一半。

With the deal, Wanda will reduce the need for fresh borrowing to fund new projects — avoiding an increase in its leverage.

簽署這項協議後，萬達將減少借款資助新項目的需要，從而避免加大其槓桿率。

Fitch Ratings had warned before the group’s Hong Kong listing that its debt levels had “increased substantially” since the start of 2014.

惠譽評級(Fitch Ratings)在萬達赴港上市前就警告稱，其債務水平自2014年初以來已經“大幅增加”。

Wanda, founded by billionaire Wang Jianlin, also said its new strategy “caters to China’s new development model, which relies on domestic demand and consumption”. Analysts had been expecting large mainland developers to adopt a more income-focused model, and to tap Chinese investors as the domestic housing market slowed.

由億萬富翁王健林創立的萬達同時也表示，其新戰略“迎合了中國依靠國內需求和消費的新發展模式”。分析師此前就預期，內地大型開發商將採用一種更注重收入的模式，並且隨着國內房地產市場放緩，更多地利用中國投資機構的資源。

In November, average Chinese property prices dropped 3.6 per cent, while transaction volumes sank 13 per cent.

11月，中國平均房價下跌3.6%，而成交量下降了13%。

“China’s real estate market is facing a lot of risk and uncertainty right now, and Wanda already has a lot of projects in China,” noted Chester Zhang, associate research director at Savills in Shanghai. “Bringing in financial investors makes sense. If you’re a pure developer, you have to invest a lot of money. An asset-lite strategy greatly reduces the funding pressure.”

上海第一太平戴維斯(Savills)研究副總監Chester Zhang說，“中國房地產市場現在面臨許多風險和不確定性，而萬達在中國已經有大量項目……引入金融投資機構是明智的。如果你是一家純開發商，你必須投入大量資金。輕資產戰略將大大減輕資金壓力。”