IN BRIEF (Page 5)

Vacancy in Shanghai

Shanghai saw average vacancy rate of its Grade A office buildings hit 12.3 percent in the first quarter of this year, a 2 percent increase from the fourth quarter of last year and the highest level since 2005, according to property consulting firm Colliers International.

In the period from January to March, vacancy rates of Grade A office buildings in Pudong and Puxi reached 16.5 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively.

The average daily rent over the three months was 7.6 yuan per sq m but this figure will likely dive 20 percent to 6.5 yuan per sq m by the end of this year, Colliers added.

Hubei nuclear

Central China's Hubei province is considering building three nuclear power plants on top of one expected to start construction soon, hoping to gain from Beijing's big push for clean energy.

The nuclear stations would be in Xishui and Yangxin counties and Zhongxiang city, said Zhen Jianqiao, deputy director of the Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission, according to Xinhua News Agency.

"We have submitted an application to the National Development and Reform Commission for the Xishui project," Zhen said.

Hong Kong reserve up

Hong Kong's official foreign currency reserve assets stood at $186.2 billion at the end of March, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said on Tuesday, up 5.14 percent from $177.1 billion at the end of February.

Hong Kong, whose currency is linked to the U.S. dollar, ranks as the world's eighth largest holder of foreign currency reserves after mainland China, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, India, South Korea and Brazil.

Property prices

Property agency Centaline said the housing market in Shenzhen has rebounded since the start of this year, and predicted prices will stabilize from now on.

"Market situations in both new homes and second-hand ones have certainly improved recently," it said. "Prices have rebounded by 10 to 15 percent from the bottom seen between October and November last year."

Property prices in Shenzhen plunged late last year to hit levels 40 percent below their 2007 peak.

Cheaper Canton fair

Hoteliers in South China's Guangdong province are slashing prices to attract overseas visitors to the 105th Canton fair, the largest biannual trade fair in China, which is scheduled to open next week in Guangzhou. The Guangzhou Hotels Association, a regulatory organization that oversees more than 2,000 hoteliers in Guangzhou, the province's capital, has published its detailed advisory prices, which were said to be 20 percent lower than those of previous years. The list covers rooms at hotels rated two stars or more for next week's fair and the 106th Canton fair in October.

A document posted on the website of the Guangzhou Hotels Association lists advisory prices for a standard room, a luxury room and a business suite at a five-star hotel at 1,790 yuan (263 U.S dollars), 1,980 yuan and 2,310 yuan, respectively. A staff member at the five-star Dongfang Hotel, on Liuhua Road, said it was charging on average 400 to 500 yuan less per room compared with a year ago. Association president Lin Weimin said Wednesday that reservations were down in comparison with past spring fairs.

(China Daily 04/13/2009 page5)