金融英语阅读：Shanghai denies ’interference’
The Shanghai government has been accused of interference in the real estate market by the local media after the municipality allegedly hindered property prices deemed too expensive.Government officials denied the reports in official statements Thursday.
"The municipality reviews high-priced transactions before sales are completed, but we will not revoke developers' right to sell properties," said Pang Yuan, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Housing Support and Building Administration, Thursday.
Pang was responding to reports that said the government could halt property sales considered unreasonable, or those over 30,000 yuan ($4,500) per square meter.
But Pang's statements did little to dispel the rumors. Media reports continue to circulate Thursday about the government denying approvals to housing projects deemed too expensive.
One such case is the launch of Mantuyuan, a complex of freestanding homes developed by Shanghai SK Real Estate Co Ltd, that was postponed from June to late September or early October, according to the company's website. The firm still has yet to receive government permission to begin official sales.
Units in the project are expected to sell for 45 million yuan ($6.7 million) each or 120,000 yuan ($18,000) per square meter - well beyond the 30,000 yuan ($4,464.29) level that requires a government review.
Sales of high-end residences have been rising, despite government policies to cool down the market in April.
According to financial analysis firm Capital Vue, the transaction volume of newly built residential properties costing more than 30,000 yuan per square meter in Shanghai more than doubled from May to August.
Analysts say that government interference, if true, could further distort the real estate market.
"The government should let the market decide, rather than try to rein in prices this way," Chen Jie, an associate professor with the Center for Housing Policy Studies from Fudan University, told the Global Times Thursday.
Chen added that the government's review is essentially meaningless.
Li Wenjie, a general manager with Centaline Property Agency, was even harsher in his criticism.
"The government's rules will only distort the market," he said.
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