Why did China's overseas real estate investment ebb?

A few days ago, the office project of Ping An Group's overseas crowdfunding project bar works * * * * was involved in a suspected Ponzi scheme. Subsequently, three other overseas crowdfunding projects of Ping An Fang Hao, including Bell greifer Plaza in London and student apartment investment projects in South Carolina and North Carolina, have been removed from the relevant websites of Ping An Group.

The above projects are sold to investors by Ping An Fang Hao as crowdfunding products on the platform. The reporter of 265438+20th Century Business Herald found that Ping An Fang Hao sold the above crowdfunding products on this platform during the peak period of overseas investment of China real estate enterprises from 20 14 to 20 15. Now that the climax has receded, the sales of at least two projects have not been completed, and the payment has to be postponed.

Jones Lang LaSalle released a report at the beginning of 20 15, saying that in 20 14, China's overseas real estate investment reached 165 billion US dollars, up 46% year-on-year, and reached a new record high. Recently, a report released by dtz shows that in the third quarter of this year, China's overseas real estate investment decreased by 5 1% year-on-year to US$ 2.5 billion, the lowest total investment since the fourth quarter of 20 13.

At present, Bar Works has been exposed and accused by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the case has entered the judicial process. According to the American media The Real Deal, Bar Works has been identified as a Ponzi scheme. Previously, since 20 15, with the help of Ping An Fang Hao Platform, Bar Works has raised funds for four times, with an investment of 25,000 USD/station, and sold twice, with sales exceeding10 million USD.

Relevant persons from the Brand Department of Ping An Fang Hao responded that Ping An Fang Hao is one of the consignment platforms for bar engineering investment projects. The company has communicated with customers in a timely manner and helped them to pay their lawyer's fees in advance. At present, the US judicial department is investigating the case. As for other overseas projects, Ping An Fang Hao said that they are operating normally at present. In addition, the reporter asked Ping An Group and Ping An Fang Hao Brand Department whether overseas projects were suspected of Ponzi scheme and the company's follow-up solutions. Ping An Group said that there was no response for the time being; As of press time, there was no positive response from Ping An Fang Hao.

The reporter of 265438+20th Century Business Herald learned exclusively that Ping An Fang Hao is located in Bell greifer Square, London, England, and the student apartment in South Carolina, USA, and the sales cycle has not ended. In other words, the redemption time of these two projects agreed with investors for 2-3 years will be extended.

Project expansion

On 20 14, Ping An Fang Hao launched the "Chandler Oaks" student apartment crowdfunding project in South Carolina, USA, which is the first overseas crowdfunding project initiated by Ping An Fang Hao. Ping An Fanghao's first overseas crowdfunding project lasts for 30 days, with a target amount of 6 1 0.5 million yuan (about110,000 US dollars), a minimum subscription share of10.000 US dollars and a maximum purchase restriction of 50 copies.

At that time, Chandler Oaks Student Apartment in South Carolina, Chelsea Apartment in Manhattan, new york, and Lijun Superior Seaview Apartment in Florida were the first overseas crowdfunding projects of Ping An Real Estate. After the target amount is put forward, investors will vote on the project and determine the final purchase project.

In the publicity materials of the project, Ping An Fang Hao said that Chandler Oaks Student Apartment has signed a lease agreement with Limestone Private University, "guaranteeing a rental return rate of 5% per year and a lease term of 5 years. In the first month of the fourth year, the property management company promised to buy back 1 12% of the purchase price. "

Limestone University, located in gaffney, South Carolina, is a private art college with 20 16 * * enrollment 124 1 person. According to gaffney media The Gaffney Ledger, Limestone University signed a three-year lease agreement with Chandler Oaks Apartment in 20 14 to provide students with off-campus accommodation.

According to the reporter of 265438+20th Century Business Herald, Ping An Fang Hao invested in the above project *** 100 suite, and the project operator renovated it, took out 63 suites and signed a lease with the school.

Ping An Fang Hao's crowdfunding amount on the Chandler Oaks student apartment project is $6,543,800+0,000, which guarantees 5% annual income. According to local industry insiders in the United States, apartment developers obtained funds through crowdfunding in Ping An Fang Hao to purchase land and simply install apartments, which were accepted and renovated by the school and then rented to students. As can be seen from the previous publicity materials, "the project party guarantees the annual return of investors 8%, Ping An gets 3%, and domestic investors get 5%".

According to the analysis of the above-mentioned insiders, Ping An Fang Hao's move is equivalent to financing a loan of $6,543,800+from the developer to operate the project, and finally the three parties will share the benefits.

However, after the 20 16 lease expires, limestone university will not renew it. Since Limestone University has required all students to live in the apartment owned by the university since 20 16, the investor said that the management of the apartment project has changed, and the new project party does not recognize the original articles of association and the repurchase contract.

Ping An Fang Hao's response to investors was: Contact the new project party by email, but no response was received.

Ping An Fang Hao, the source of 100 suite, has promised investors to buy back in the fourth year, which can achieve an 8% return. "The project originally relied on the school to provide student tenant resources. The promise of a 5% return to domestic investors can be fulfilled if it is sold well, but now there is no lease, and the rental return is difficult to guarantee. " The above-mentioned overseas industry insiders said.

2065438+July 2005, the crowdfunding project of Bell greifer Square in London, England was recognized in Ping An Fang Hao, which is the second phase product of overseas crowdfunding project launched by Ping An Fang Hao. Overseas public information shows that this is an old house renovation project, which is under renovation. The project is a 7-bedroom mansion with a usable area of 1809 square meters, which can enjoy one of the most beautiful garden squares in London.

According to the memorandum of private placement prepared by the Bell Gravel Plaza project, the product has guaranteed capital and interest for two years, and the sales price of the project is lower than the market price. During the investment period, the floating income can reach 20%, and the minimum annualized income is 14%. "If a one-time investment of 2 million pounds is made to arrange for British investment immigrants, investors will get a minimum investment income of 28% at one time after the end of the investment cycle, and crowdfunding participants will hold the original equity certificate of the project investment company".

The first phase of Bell greifer Plaza Project launched more than 3,000 crowdfunding projects, and Ping An Fang Hao contracted 250 of them for consignment, with a crowdfunding target of 5 million pounds. Investors can subscribe for 1 20,000, with a maximum of 250 copies. The subscription period of the product is from July 2005 1, 20 1 to July 2, 20051,and it is planned to withdraw in two years. However, after the payment was due in August 20 17, Ping An Fang Hao indicated that it would be postponed for half a year. At present, investors have not been informed of the investment exit time.

It is a fact that the project is still on sale. One website that can be found in Britain is selling the property, and the sales information of several other websites has been deleted. The specific reason is unknown. An overseas industry insider analyzed that the project is still on sale, indicating that the wealth management products it sells can't fulfill its promise and investors can't quit.

According to the analysis of the above-mentioned overseas insiders, the delayed payment of two overseas crowdfunding projects in Ping An Fang Hao shows the information asymmetry of China's overseas investment. Taking the student apartment project in South Carolina, USA as an example, there may be two situations: the operator in the student apartment project in South Carolina actually signed a three-year lease with the school, and they told Ping An Fang Hao that it signed a five-year lease, which led to incorrect publicity information; Operators have no intention to investigate schools, thinking that they can renew their contracts. Once apartment 63 has no students, the difficulty of renting a house can be imagined.

It is worth noting that the market price around the project is $20,000, so you can buy a 3-bedroom apartment. For the student apartments invested by Ping An Fang Hao, this market situation is very competitive.

Ping An Fang Hao's mode of investing in overseas projects through crowdfunding is also very consistent. "The platform uses the project to launch crowdfunding wealth management products to realize financing-investment project-withdrawal", but due to reasons such as project decoration and sales progress, the project cannot be withdrawn on time, and even if there is rental income, it is difficult to reach the income level promised by Ping An Fang Hao to investors.

Information Asymmetry

"Ping An may be too optimistic about the project prospect." Liu, a partner of Mellon Group, the largest Chinese commercial real estate developer in the United States, pointed out that taking the above Bell Greive Plaza as an example, according to the private placement memorandum submitted by the project party, the project manager (operator) used 5% of the funds for project financing. Liu Zikai believes that this is equivalent to the financing agency fee. In the United States, according to the regulations, the financing agency fee is generally 0.75%-2%, which is about 1% for the same type of British mansion invested by Ping An Fang Hao. "So it is relatively high for British project parties to get 5%." According to the legal documents provided by the project party, that is, the private placement memorandum, the project may have an upfront cost that exceeds the market price, but in general, institutional investors often do not accept such conditions during the negotiation process. In addition, the project party takes 10% of gross income as its own profit every year, which is equivalent to the risk transfer to the back end in the project development process.

The reporter inquired that the owner of the project is a company named TINTRA, but the company official website has stopped using it, and only the social platform of overseas search engines is still publishing all kinds of overseas real estate information represented by the company.

Liu Zixuan has been engaged in the real estate industry in the United States for many years. He analyzed and pointed out that typical differences in consumption patterns between China and the United States can be seen from the crowdfunding products launched by Ping An Fang Hao Overseas Project. For ordinary people in China, 100 apartment was bought by crowdfunding with 100, which is equivalent to buying an apartment with 100, that is, buying a house with less than 70,000 yuan; Secondly, according to the contract between Ping An Fang Hao and the school, there is a 5% rental return every year; Ping An also has a repurchase commitment. He thinks this is quite attractive to middle-aged and elderly consumers in China. From the perspective of Ping An, the British who helped Ping An to trade this time had a lot of experience in project operation before; However, judging from overseas information disclosure, these two British people only have experience in selling international real estate.

Liu Zitao pointed out that the investment highlight of the above-mentioned student apartment project in South Carolina is that compared with the metropolis, the more remote the area, the greater the land price gap, but the rent gap is relatively small.

However, according to the return of 8% for a safe and good house, the apartment price also has some pressure. According to local industry sources in the United States, the more remote the project is in the United States, the higher the return on investment. For example, in the urban-rural fringe of Washington, DC, a one-bedroom apartment can be rented at the price of $65,438+$0,400 a month, and the selling price is estimated to be about $220,000, with an annualized rental income of only 7.6%. Gaffney, the city where Ping An Fang Hao Project is located, is more remote. At present, the prices of houses sold locally (detached houses with 3 bedrooms to 5 bedrooms) are mainly between 20,000 and 90,000 dollars. Take a 40,000-dollar detached house as an example. If the estimated rent of Ping An Fang Hao starts from 480 dollars/month, the income can reach 14%.

"The rental returns of houses in such areas are high, but the risks are also relatively high. Because of the low demand, the local economy is often not strong; There is also a low threshold for development and anyone can come in and do it. " In addition, the project only signed a three-year contract with the school, but the product promotion is five years, and the repurchase is guaranteed in the fourth year.

Liu Zitao believes that the asymmetry of market information at home and abroad and the inherent way of thinking of Chinese-funded enterprises in overseas project planning and operation are also the main reasons for their hitting a wall overseas.

Inquiring about overseas websites, we can see that the above-mentioned South Carolina project is under the responsibility of two British people, Anton and Anthony, and is sold through a number of intermediaries. However, the public information of these two traders shows that there are many companies registered under their names and their footprints are all over the world. Liu Zikai believes that the difference between the western development model and the domestic development model is that in the United States, real estate project development can only be controlled by local people who are familiar with the market, because financial institutions are concerned about the local market.

It is worth noting that at present, the operators of the South Carolina student apartment project in the United States are actively promoting apartments in Britain, Spain and other places, and the price is 48,000-77,000 US dollars/set. "This should be the hope to recover the funds drawn by Ping An investors as soon as possible." The above-mentioned insiders said.