Over 130,000 volunteers have registered up for the Delta’s next largest sporting event — the 2010 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou. And that’s just the beginning. Organizers anticipate as many as 500,000 volunteers to be registered by the time the games kick-off in November 2010.
Helping hands are the only Asian Games news happening. Happy feet are too. Over 80 percent of the sporting venues will be in walking distance of metro stops. For anyone who has traveled around Guangzhou, this is exciting news. The city is currently girding its metro system to have eight lines of over 237 kilometres of track ready in time for the Games — putting Guangzhou on par with Tokyo and Seoul in terms if their metro’s length. The new lines will be able to transport up to 3.5 million passengers per day.
Guangzhou, Shenzhen see property prices soar
The new metros in Guangzhou should please new homebuyers. The city is reporting that May saw downtown housing prices soar to RMB 11,200 per sqm in May. That’s approaching the October 2007 historical housing high of RMB 11,574 per sqm.
The average price of second-hand apartments also reached a new peak of RMB 9,648 per sqm for May 2009.
The new housing records are, in part, a response to the central government’s May lowering of the requirement on developers’ minimum capital fund from 35 percent to 20 percent, according to reports.
That being said, transactions for new residences dropped 20 percent in June — yet still remained high with over 10,000 deals. While the majority of sales were downtown, outlying districts such as Huadu and Zengcheng contributed to 37 percent to the 10,502 contracts signed in June, say reports.
Shenzhen home prices also rocketed in June — by 40 percent to RMB 14,908 per sqm. Rents, however, remained relatively stable.
In Q2 2009, rents of home in Shenzhen averaged RMB 32.5 per sqm, dipping in popular districts such as Luohu, Futian and Nanshan. For example, rent prices in Futian fell 42 percent as more residents have chosen to move further out of downtown in recent months to Longgang and Baoan districts.
Rents for factory space also dropped in Q2, with over 25 percent of factories remaining empty. By contrast, office spaces stabilized to RMB 88 per sqm. Analysts forecast that with 800,000 sqm of new office space opening this year, office vacancy rates will continue to rise, reducing overall office rent costs.
Shenzhen to Lhasa flights resume
Which might mean Shenzhen office owners can pocket extra cash for holidays to… Lhasa. Shenzhen Airlines has announced that it is resuming flights from Shenzhen to Lhasa via Chongqing. Flights were suspended in March 2008. The flights leave every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 2:20 pm. Tickets average RMB 2,400 yuan to Lhasa, and run about the same coming back. Tourists who take time off in Chongqing then fly onto Lhasa can apply for a 32 percent discount — on limited flights for a limited time only. The airline is also offering a “single ticket” service from Hong Kong, providing transportation to Shenzhen Baoan airport.
