外灘地塊引發中國開發商法律戰

A rare and unusually public legal battle between two of China's most prominent property developers is raising eyebrows in the industry, as well as questions about the solidity of legal agreements there.

兩家中國知名房地產開發商之間展開了一場罕見而極其公開的法律戰，此事不僅令業內人士吃驚不已，也令外界對房地產業法律協議的可靠性產生了質疑。

It also illustrates the desire of big property developers to pick up choice properties from smaller rivals weakened by Beijing's more than two-year campaign to tame real-estate prices.

此事還表明，大型房地產開發商迫切希望從較小的競爭對手手中攫取優質房地產。中國政府推出已逾兩年的抑制房價措施削弱了較小開發商的實力。

A Shanghai court is expected to begin hearing arguments this week in a suit filed in May by Shanghai-based Fosun International Ltd. against Beijing rival Soho China Ltd. Fosun is seeking to claim back its right to acquire a piece of land near Shanghai's prestigious Bund area.

預計上海一家法院本週將開庭審理這起復星國際有限公司(Fosun International Ltd.)今年5月對SOHO中國有限公司(Soho China Ltd.)提起的訴訟案。復星國際力爭奪回收購上海外灘附近一個地塊的權利。

Fosun owns half the commercial land, but the other half was sold last year to Soho by units of Fosun's former partners there. Fosun claims the other half should have been offered to it first. Soho says the suit is meritless.

復星國際持有這塊商業用地的一半，另一半則被複星國際在上海的前合作伙伴的旗下公司於去年賣給了SOHO中國。復星國際聲稱，另一半本應優先賣給自己。而SOHO中國則說這一訴訟案毫無法律依據。

Other property players in the city are paying attention. 'It's unfortunate that they've gone to court,' said Vincent Lo, chairman of Shanghai-based developer Shui On Land. 'But if you look at this from a positive angle, it shows that Chinese companies are trying to settle their disagreements through proper legal procedures.'

上海其他房地產開發商都在密切關注此案。上海開發商瑞安房地產有限公司(Shui On Land)主席羅康瑞說，很遺憾他們選擇了對簿公堂，但如果從積極的角度看，此案顯示出中國公司開始努力通過正當法律程序解決分歧。

Indeed, legal experts say the suit could forge new ground in an industry where legal agreements often are short and lack specifics. Local Chinese parties generally prefer less detail in their contractual arrangements, said David Blumenfeld, a Shanghai-based partner at law firm Paul Hastings. The goal is to provide guidelines through which the parties can work out later disputes quietly over the negotiating table, avoiding China's often slow and cumbersome courts.

實際上，法律專家說，此案可能爲房地產業奠定新的基礎。在中國的房地產業，法律協議常常篇幅很短，並且不夠詳細明確。普衡律師事務所(Paul Hastings)駐上海合夥人布盧門菲爾德(David Blumenfeld)說，中國當事方常常不願在合約性協議中做出詳細規定。這樣做的目的在於提供一些指導原則，讓當事方在今後發生糾紛時能夠通過談判私下裏進行解決，避免在中國走常常緩慢、繁瑣的法庭程序。

'The question on people's minds was, how could this happen?' said one real-estate consultant in Shanghai. 'They have to make sure their contracts are airtight.'

上海的一位房地產顧問說，人們心中的疑問是：怎麼會發生這樣的事？他們必須得確保合同滴水不漏。

The site in dispute, which covers 45,472 square meters (about 489,000 square feet), is located south of the Bund area along the Huangpu River, which cuts through the heart of mainland China's financial capital.

爭議地塊面積45,472平方米，位於外灘南部黃浦江沿岸地區。黃浦江是一條橫貫中國內地金融中心上海的河流。

The winner could have an impact on the Bund's skyline. The planned building for the site will contain offices and some retail. Fosun, which calls the project the Bund International Financial Center, said it would be a landmark in Shanghai. Currently, work on the foundation of the north portion of the project is continuing, with the expected date of completion at end June 2014, according to signs at the construction site.

勝訴的一方可能對外灘的天際線產生重要影響。該地塊上計劃修建的建築物將包括寫字樓和一些零售店。復星國際將該項目稱爲“外灘國際金融中心”。該公司說，它將成爲上海的一個地標。目前，該項目北部分的地基施工仍在繼續。據工地上的牌子顯示，項目預計於2014年6月底完工。

Fosun and Soho declined to provide details on their plans for the building, given the lawsuit.

鑑於雙方處於訴訟期間，復星國際和SOHO中國拒絕就計劃如何打造這一建築羣的問題提供有關細節。

Developer Shanghai Zendai Property Ltd. originally paid 9.22 billion yuan ($1.44 billion) to purchase the site in February 2010, as the property market still was climbing. The company sought an exit as credit dried up and the housing market soured. In November 2011, it sold half the property to Fosun and another 10% stake to developer Greentown China Holdings Ltd.

這幅地塊最初是由開發商上海證大房地產有限公司(Shanghai Zendai Property Ltd., 簡稱：上海證大)於2010年2月斥資人民幣92.2億元（約合14.4億美元）買下的，當時樓市還處於上升期。隨着信貸緊縮和住房市場行情惡化，上海證大希望將這幅地塊轉手。2011年11月，上海證大將其中一半地塊出售給復星國際，並將另外10%的權益出售給開發商綠城中國控股有限公司(Greentown China Holdings Ltd., 簡稱：綠城中國)。

In December, Greentown and Zendai agreed to sell their combined 50% stake in the land to Soho for 4 billion yuan. Fosun fired back the following day, saying it was surprised by the deal, and that it had the right to buy the remaining stake.

去年12月，綠城中國和上海證大同意將雙方共同擁有的這幅地塊50%的權益作價人民幣40億元出售給SOHO中國。復星國際在第二天就做出迴應，稱這宗交易令其感到意外，還說它有權優先購買剩下這一半的權益。

Fosun's suit also names Greentown and Zendai. The two companies declined to comment.

復星國際提起的訴訟還提到了綠城中國和上海證大的名字。這兩家公司均不予置評。

The disputed transaction is one of a number by stronger players looking for opportunities in the downturn in China's property market. A number of Chinese developers took on too many projects during the market's boom years.

在中國房地產市場，因爲實力更強的開發商在市中心尋找商機而引發的爭議很多，上述存在爭議的交易只是其中一宗。在樓市繁榮時期，一批中國開發商拿了太多項目。

Shanghai recorded more than 11.7 billion yuan worth of what are known as en-bloc commercial real-estate transactions in the second quarter, up from 4.3 billion yuan in the first quarter and 8.7 billion yuan in the same period a year earlier, according to property consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle, despite sluggish activity in other parts of the Shanghai real-estate market. Such transaction involving existing buildings but excluding land and residential transactions primarily include properties that developers and investors sell to one another.

房地產諮詢公司仲量聯行(Jones Lang LaSalle)的數據顯示，今年二季度，儘管上海房地產市場其它類型交易低迷，但上海商業房地產整體交易規模超過人民幣117億元，高於今年一季度43億元的規模，也高於去年同期87億元的水平。此類交易（涉及現有樓宇但不包括土地和住宅交易）主要包括開發商和投資者之間出售的房產。

'Owner-occupiers were especially active pursuing upcoming office projects in Pudong,' said Alan Li, head of investment for Jones Lang LaSalle Shanghai, referring to Shanghai's bustling Pudong district. Mr. Li said he expects that volumes will accelerate should debt financing become more widely available or less costly.

仲量聯行上海投資部總監李凌說，浦東即將推出的寫字樓項目尤其受到自住業主的追捧，這裏他指的是上海繁華的浦東新區。李凌說，如果債務融資變得更加普及或成本變得低，預計交易量將加速上升。

As for the Bund International Financial Center, Fosun said that there is a possibility the company would move its headquarters to the new building from its current one less than one kilometer away. Owners of such buildings usually want to attract Fortune-500-type tenants.

至於外灘國際金融中心，復星國際說公司可能會將總部遷到新的建築中來。復星國際當前的總部與這幅地塊相距不足一公里。此類項目的所有者一般都希望吸引到《財富》(Fortune)500強企業的租客。

By contrast, Soho's main customers are small and medium-size Chinese businesses, including coal-mine owners. Soho's usual business model is to sell its office units on a piecemeal basis to small and midsize businesses, which would run counter to Fosun's plans for a swanky new building, said people familiar with Fosun.

相比之下，SOHO中國的主要客戶羣體是中小型中資企業，比如礦業企業。SOHO中國通常的業務模式是以零敲碎打的方式把辦公面積出售給中小型企業。據接近復星國際的人士稱，復星國際要建的是時髦奢華的大樓，跟SOHO中國的定位相悖。