China: Beijing's Olympic building boom becomes a bust (vacant office space: 100mln sq. ft)

LA Times ^ | 02/22/09 | Barbara Demick

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Ezekiel]

Oh well, the next earthquake will take care of that.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Here's an idea that's a three-fer:

1. Round up all of the illegals and their children.
2. Ship them to China in all those excess shipping containers we have clogging up our ports.
3. Use the excess office space in China as schools, hospitals, and day care for the children of the illegals.

How 'bout that for progressive thinking!

[sinanju]

Gee, do you suppose the air there will freshen up?

[bruinbirdman]

"Beijing went through a building boom before the 2008 Summer Olympics . . ."

In the late fall of 2007, as FR was discussing the pending financial doom, a FReeper called "professional" posited an exact financial scenario. The end of his choronolgy was "after the '08 Olympics".

He rarely posted in '08 until after the Olympics:
China Stock Market vs Nasdaq 2000
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 11:32:58 PM · 85 of 91

"Dang, looks like I was either correct, or like a broken watch, just got lucky. CHina is indeed cratering like the Nasdaq bubble of 2002.

Trouble is, the US market too, is getting a whooping."

yitbos

[PhilDragoo]

Everybody's watching what's going on in Beijing right now and the Olympics. Think about the amount of money that China has spent on infrastructure. Their ports, their train systems, their airports are all vastly superior to us now, which means if you're a corporation deciding where to do business, you're starting to think, Beijing looks like a pretty good option.

[Dallas59]

Communism at it’s best....Coming to a City near you.

[bruinbirdman]

"Beijing looks like a pretty good option. "

One leetle mistake.

"What makes this boom-and-bust cycle different from those in the West is that there is no private ownership of land in China, making local governments de facto partners in the real estate industry, which earn huge fees from leasing and transferring land."

"Huang Yasheng, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, traces the blame for the bust to the Chinese Communist Party. . . "

yitbos

[John Leland 1789]

“What makes this boom-and-bust cycle different from those in the West is that there is no private ownership of land in China, making local governments de facto partners in the real estate industry, which earn huge fees from leasing and transferring land.”

“Huang Yasheng, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, traces the blame for the bust to the Chinese Communist Party. . . “

---

And what specifically are the differences between the Obama Administration and the Chinese Communist Party?

I’m waiting.

[familyop]

"'Empty,' says Jack Rodman"

The PLA will find uses for those buildings, after the prices are low enough. And the Chinese indexes are still up at this time. Communism is one of the worst forms of government, but so is the nation-less, willing mercantilism of an effet-ocracy, atrophied to fatuity.

IMO, we need to get more young men's minds to physical work in order to grow some ingenuity in them.

[Mark was here]

And what specifically are the differences between the Obama Administration and the Chinese Communist Party?

Good question! China is moving towards freedom, while The O, is moving away?

[familyop]

"And what specifically are the differences between the Obama Administration and the Chinese Communist Party?"

One could ask former Secretary Rice, who is the ex-girlfriend of the PLA. Or one could ask Hillary--the new girlfriend. You could ask the China-related constituents behind politicians in both parties, but I doubt that they'd give you an honest answer.

Our government-business has been getting to be more like the PLA (through sucking up to it) for about 36 years.

[paulycy]

Chinese buildings are like Chinese food - a little while later you’re empty again.

[Aussiebabe]

Does anyone remember just a few short months ago that Obama said that China's infrastructure is “vastly superior” to the that of the USA? I could never understand why the GOP didn't make an issue of such a stupid statement, and I mean, it was really stupid.

[Dutch Boy]

"And what specifically are the differences between the Obama Administration and the Chinese Communist Party?"

Obama doesn't speak Chinese as far as I know.

[caver]

Has anyone seen Knoxville, Tennessee after the 1982 World’s Fair? Same thing, a bunch of empty buildings and still are.

[iopscusa]

Hello Chicago, you too can have an (O)lympic bust...did not the BO want the US to be more like China with those spiffy govmental building projects?

[Boiling Pots]

Considering the massive property taxes many Americans have to endure, is there really “private” ownership of land in the US?

For instance, a cousin of mine pays $900 a month in property taxes for a 3br/2ba house in Coral Gables.

I’d say they owned him.

[NHResident]

Don’t worry, US corporations like IBM are moving jobs and investment dollars to China - already there are at least 3 (and possibly 4 IBM) high-value Research Labs located in China. IBM’s corporate policy is to invest more money and effort in pursuing that market. I’m sure you’ve seen the story how IBM is offering to relocate US workers to China as long as they understand they will be hired under local ‘benefits’ (or lack thereof) and salaries.