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(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-16 06:48

Foreigners are the target market for two high-end apartment complexes, their developers say

Yingtai Center

At an average cost of 70,000 yuan per sq m, the Park Hyatt Penthouses are the most expensive apartments in Beijing.

And they're in a prime location in the Beijing Yintai Center in the capital's central business district near the southwest corner of the China World Trade Center.

China Business Weekly reporter Hu Yuanyuan spoke to Zhu Xiaodong, vice general manager of Beijing Yintai Property Co Ltd, about the capital's most expensive apartments.

Q: As the most expensive apartments in Beijing, some may associate the Park Hyatt project with the Tomson Riviera in Shanghai. What do you say to that?

A: In fact, we don't share much similarity. Tomson Riviera has over 2,000 apartments available, and there are a number of similar projects around it. But for Park Hyatt Penthouse, we only have 21 units in all. And there are almost no other projects in the area with a view over Tiananmen Square.

Q: Who are your target customers? And how are sales going so far?

A: Most of our customers are from overseas. Park Hyatt Residences, for instance, sold out within half a year, with an average price of 42,000 yuan per square meter. Around 50 percent of buyers are from Hong Kong, 30 percent from other countries and 20 percent from the mainland. The buyers of Park Hyatt Penthouses are all from overseas, with most of them coming from the US and European countries.

Q: If that's the case, the government's latest policy on foreigners buying property in China would have come as a blow to your project?

A: Yes, the sales of Park Hyatt Penthouses were slowed by the policy, especially when it was released and no detailed rules were available. In fact property transactions from foreigners stopped in that period.

But that situation has been largely improved since March, after details were finally made public. Around half of the Park Hyatt Penthouses have sold so far. And Yintai Center sales doubled those in the first quarter.

Q: Did the policy prompt a rethink of who you should target?

A: Not really. Our foreign customers are more sensitive to government policies, compared with local buyers. Investment safety is their primary concern. So they took a wait-and-see approach after the policy was released. After it was clarified, the demand from foreigners was still there. The major change now is that it usually takes three to five months to complete a transaction with a foreign buyer, compared with one month before the new policy.

Q: Are the Park Hyatt apartments being bought for investment purposes or to live in?

A: The buyers of Park Hyatt Residences are mainly investment-oriented, but most of the Park Hyatt Penthouses buyers want to live there.

Q: Apart from location, why are the Park Hyatt Penthouses so expensive?

A: Services. The property management will be taken care of by Hyatt International, one of the most renowned private luxury hotel management groups in the world. The Beijing Yintai Center will also be home to the first Park Hyatt Hotel in Greater China.

 

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