Paper
abstracts
From Public to Private: The Newly Enacted Chinese Property
Law and the Protection of Property Rights in China (2008)
Mo Zhang, Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law
Berkeley Business Law
Journal, Vol. 5, 2008
Temple University Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2008-39
Abstract:
Protection of Property Rights has become a pressing issue in China
since the country strived to move from a planned economy to a market
economy in late 1970's. The passage of the Property Law of China on
March 16, 2007 marked an historic change in the country from public to
private in respect to property rights. Effective on October 1, 2007,
the Property Law for the first time in Chinese history grants an equal
protection to both public and private properties, breaking up the
orthodox ideology in favor of public ownership against private
ownership and individual liberty.
With a notable civil law tradition, the Property Law is intended to set
forth comprehensive rules regulating creation, alteration, alienation
as well as termination of property rights, and protecting private
property rights in China, a country where the public or state ownership
is still playing a leading role in the nation's economy. Many rules in
the Property Law, which are different from those in other countries,
particularly the common law countries, are unique not only in their
contents but also in their application. The land use rights typically
reflect a Chinese reality in that the ownership of land is separated
from the possession and use of it.
Adoption of the Property Law in China is a substantial step toward
protection of private property rights in the nation. The greatest
challenge facing the country, however, is how to enforce the law so
that the private property rights would be effectively protected,
especially in the situation where the public ownership is involved. The
Nail House syndrome that has spread all over the country indeed raises
a serious issue of compensation in the case of taking. Whether or not
the compensation must be just and reasonable remains to be answered.
Keywords: Comparative Law, Property Law, Property Rights
JEL Classifications: K10, K11
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1084363#
Mortgage Law in China: Comparing Theory and Practice (2007)
Gregory M. Stein, Associate Dean for Faculty Development; Professor of
Law, University of Tennessee College of Law
Missouri Law Review,
Vol. 72, p. 1315, 2007
University of Tennessee Legal Studies Research Paper No. 13
Abstract:
The first Chinese law focusing specifically on property rights became
effective on October 1, 2007, which means that China's breakneck real
estate development before that date occurred in a nation with no
published law of real estate. Thus those who have been buying, selling,
and lending against Chinese real estate have been operating in a world
of significant legal uncertainty. Even with the new code, property law
as it is practiced is likely to diverge significantly from the
published rules.
This Article examines Chinese mortgage law as it actually operates in
the field, focusing on both legal and business issues. I recently
interviewed dozens of Chinese and Western lawyers, bankers, real estate
developers, government officials, judges, economists, real estate
consultants, law professors, business professors, real estate agents,
law students, and homebuyers. The Article draws on these conversations
to examine China's budding mortgage law practices, including how they
developed, how they comport with or differ from written laws, and what
questions they leave unanswered.
The Article describes the types of loans that are available to Chinese
borrowers and the types of lenders that are making these loans. Next,
it raises the question of what assets a borrower can offer to a lender
as security for repayment. The Article then addresses the lending
standards these lenders apply before they agree to extend credit. The
discussion continues by examining the ultimate sources of these funds.
The Article concludes by questioning how stable the Chinese banking
sector actually is.
Keywords: Property, Land Use, Real Estate Finance, Chinese Property Law
JEL Classifications: K11, O17, O18, P21, P31, P32
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1014832&rec=1&srcabs=1084363
The New Chinese Property Rights Law: An Evaluation from a
Continental European Perspective (2008)
Gebhard Marc Rehm, Max Planck Institute for Comparative and
International Private Law; Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich -
Institute of International Law - Comparative Law
Hinrich Julius, GTZ Society for Technical Cooperation; Hamburg
University of Applied Sciences (HAW)
[Both authors have acted as consultants during the legislative process
leading to the Chinese Property Rights Law since 2000]
May 11, 2008
Abstract:
After 14 years of preparation, the Property Rights Law of the People's
Republic of China entered into force on October 1, 2007. The current
state of property law in China on the basis of this statute is the
subject of this article. It is based on the authors' almost a decade
long consultation experience in the law-making process. The central
thrust of the law is the protection of private property through the
socialist market economy of the People's Republic of China. The law is
oriented in its basic structure and many individual provisions towards
German law. Nationwide unified registration requirements for real
property rights and real rights for security will have (rather in the
medium term) significant impact in practice. Residential property is
for the first time comprehensively regulated with consequences for the
many thousands of apartment buildings in all Chinese towns. The
hitherto existing systems of land use and also real rights for security
have been cautiously reformed - but with major surprises in the detail:
from moves towards the creation of private property in land (at least
from an economic viewpoint) to the extension of movables apt to serve
as a basis for security rights.
Keywords: China, Property, Ownership, Rights in Rem, Land Use, Property
Rights Law
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1132343&rec=1&srcabs=1014832
China’s Legal Framework and Reform History of Land Administration System (2006)
The paper, indicating 2006 as year of issue, appears on the
website of the China Land Surveying and Planning Institute. Main
headlines:
- China’s constitutional nature and political system
- China’s legal system
- China’s Existing Laws regarding land
- History of land administration
- Development Trends of China’s Land administration
Includes literature references
http://www.clspi.org.cn/data_images/info/enyewuinfo/200610/20061012145822_wangxinxin_total.pdf
Extracts
of press releases from Chinese embassies
China to set up consumer finance companies in four cities
2009/08/14
BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's banking regulator said Thursday
that it would launch consumer finance companies and start to set up
such firms in four cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, on a trial
basis.
Such firms are expected to better finance people's purchase of consumer
goods with more flexible small loans that require no mortgage and fewer
procedures.
The move came as the country strives to stimulate consumer demand for
growth, after exports slumped as a result of the global financial
crisis.
The consumer finance firm is not allowed to accept deposits, and would
have to rely on its own capital in the initial stage, China Banking
Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said in a statement on its Web site.
The commission plans to establish one consumer finance company in
Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjian and Chengdu.
At the trial stage, the firms are only allowed to provide loans to
finance people's purchase of durable goods and other consumer
expenditures excluding home and auto purchases, according to the CBRC.
...
China publishes details of real-estate stimulus package
(12/22/2008)
BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The General Office of the State Council,
or Cabinet, on Sunday unveiled more details of a real-estate stimulus
package adopted at an executive meeting of the Council last Wednesday.
The document, called A Number of Opinions Concerning Boosting Healthy
Development of the Property Market, was posted on the central
government's official website. It emphasized low-income housing and
home ownership.
The five-point opinions included building more houses for low-income
urban families, encouraging home buying, supporting property developers
to deal with changing market, enhancing role of local governments in
stabilizing the real estate market, and improving surveillance on the
property market.
.. ..
According to the package, someone who has owned his home for two or
more years can now sell it without having to pay business taxes.
Previously, owners had to wait at least five years before selling
houses tax-free.
If they sell their houses within two years, owners only have to pay
taxes levied on the profit, not the sales price.
To boost home buying, the government also allows people with
"smaller-than-average" apartments to buy a second apartment under
favorable loan terms. Size limits are different in every city.
This is the latest in government efforts to prop up the real estate
sector. Previous measures include pledges to build more low-income
housing and cuts of mortgage rates and down payments for first home
buyers.
.. ..
China's
rural micro credit
program wins int'l recognition (02/27/2008)
NANCHANG, Feb. 27 (Xinhua)-- A "micro-credit loans to farmers" pilot
program in Wuyuan County in eastern Jiangxi Province has been ISO
9001:2000 certified.
.. ..
China's collective land-ownership system is a major constraint on farm
borrowing and investment. Farmland cannot be bought or sold. The lack
of land ownership leaves farmers with little collateral to secure
long-term loans. The absence of land markets prevents most from
consolidating land into larger operations that can achieve economies of
scale.
To solve this problem, the central government began to experiment with
micro-loan programs in several counties, including Wuyuan, in 2000 to
boost farm borrowing and investment.
In the experiment, committees composed of selected village residents
rated the credit worthiness of all village households based on their
income, past borrowing, loan repayments, as well as reputation with
neighbors.
Each household was assigned to one of four or five risk classes and
issued a certificate that could be redeemed at local rural credit
cooperatives for the loan amount set for their class.
The micro loans operate by lending small amounts to individuals without
collateral, normally 10,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan. The highest amount
could be up to 100,000 yuan.
In the first year of its implementation, Wuyuan County Rural Credit
Union lent 150 million yuan to 23,519 rural households, nearly half of
the total rural households. More than 95 percent of the debtors
returned the principal and interest in time.
In 2001, the "Wuyuan mode" was popularized across the country. The
micro-loan program was implemented by more than 90 percent of rural
credit cooperatives, major sources of capital for agriculture in China,
by the end of that year.
After seven years of development, the country's micro-loan mode has
become more mature and better regulated. "The micro loans ended the
history of difficult lending and borrowing and bad credit environment
in rural areas", said Xiao Siru, China Banking Association deputy chief
and also the Jiangxi Provincial Rural Credit Union president.
"Micro loans are a remarkable innovation in China's rural credit
regulation systems. It consulted the Bangladeshi micro-credit concept
that lent small amounts to poor individuals without collateral, but
eliminated the high-interest rates, short period of lending and the
orientation to lend money to women."
Different from the 20 percent annual rate of Grameen Bank, a
Bangladeshi micro credit concept that has been replicated in more than
100 nations, the annual rate of China's micro loans is less than 10
percent.
"The Wuyuan mode is never less meaningful than the Grameen Bank. It has
tackled the capital bottleneck of the largest population of farmers in
the world," said Fan Fangzhi, a Jiangxi Agriculture University
economics professor.
China's micro loans have won farmers' hearts since its entry into the
market. The balance of micro loans had reached 204 billion yuan.
Chinese banks have provided micro loans worth more than 900 billion
yuan to date and benefited more than 77 million households, about 25
percent of all rural households.
"ISO9001:2000 is an internationally-recognized certification. This
shows China's regulation in micro loans has reached international
standard," said quality control expert Zhang Li when speaking on the
Wuyuan County Rural Credit Union's ISO certification on Feb. 18.
[2008]
China's newly emerging middle class
.. ..
Now 29, he earns more than 200,000 yuan (29,000 U.S. dollars) a year by
working on initial public offerings for the companies which look to
list on the stock exchange.
Considering China reported a per-capita GDP of 2,042 U.S. dollars in
2007, it makes Wang fairly well off. But, he asks not to use his
Chinese name, as in China, exposing one's wealth is not wise.
His parents live the same as they have for decades. While they knew
their son works in a foreign-funded accounting firm, they are unaware
of how the firm makes money.
Wang lives with his fiancée in a two-bedroom apartment he bought two
years ago in downtown Beijing. His mortgage will be paid off in three
years. The next goal is a China-made Ford's Mondeo, worth 200,000 yuan.
.. ..
The year of 2007 saw the implementation of the long-awaited property
law, which defined the legal status of private assets, giving
individuals the same rights over their property as the state and
collectives.
.. ..
Foreign banks go local today (04/23/2007)
Four foreign banks will provide retail yuan services to people across
China from April 23.
HSBC, Citigroup, Standard Chartered Bank and the Bank of East Asia
passed the regulator's audit last Thursday and now have unlimited
access to the country's 2-trillion U.S. dollars domestic household
savings.
.. ..
The four overseas institutions have more than 100 outlets across China.
They said over the weekend that their Shanghai branches would offer
full yuan services from today while others are expected to do so
shortly.
..
In addition to wealth management, the four banks can now provide a wide
range of services, including mortgage loans.
They could also expand their funding sources for corporate banking
business by gaining access to personal savings and inter-bank
borrowing.
Property law to secure ownership (25/10/04)
The law, basic legislation on the protection of properties, will
increase protection of the interests of individuals and corporations,
according to Jiang Ping, a leading civil law professor and the former
president of China University of Political Science and Law.
.. ..
Wang Liming, a professor of civil law at
Renmin University of China and one of the leading authors of the law,
said it will stimulate investment by giving equal protection to
private, State-owned and collectively-owned properties when it is
passed. The draft relates to rights of possession, and does
not give any preference to any specific kind of property ownership.
..
Wang also said the proposed law
will not only confirm and protect
property rights, but also better protect consumers' rights especially
in the purchase of real estate.
The basic market rules will make transactions more transparent and the
dissemination of information more open, which is crucial to the
protection of consumers' rights, Wang added.
For example, some home buyers find it difficult to find out whether the
property they are buying has been mortgaged or not. As a result, some
are cheated due to the lack of accessibility to sufficient information.
By introducing a property rights registration system, the law will give
better protection to both investors and consumers, he said.
One major doctrine of the real rights legislation is to summon one's
right over a specific property in public to make it legitimate.
Otherwise it is difficult for the owner to claim any remedy when his or
her rights have been infringed. .. ..
Legal significance
Wang suggested the draft law make clear and unify stipulation on real
estate registration to streamline current registration administration.
Nowadays there are a handful of government agencies that have the power
to carry out real estate registration. Charges for registration vary in
proportion to the real cost of properties.
Wang said a unified registration system will make transactions simpler
and offer more convenience to consumers.
Though the draft law has not unified all registration agencies into
one, it stipulates there should be a fixed registration fee instead of
a charge based on property value.
The draft law also introduced the concept of differentiated owners of
buildings to help clarify rights of every household in a high-rise
residential building over their own space, corridors and the greenbelt
and carparking of the compound.
This will help resolve increasing disputes between home owners and the
realty management agencies as rights and obligations of both parties
are clearer than before and their relationship is fixed by law.
.. ..
Paper titles
“The
Trend of Land Management and Land Ownership of Jizhong in the Modern
China”, Research in Chinese Economic History (Beijing), 2001, 4
The Research Center for the History of Modern World at Nankai University
Erik Stubkjær,
est@land.aau.dk, 2009-09-08