Financing alternatives for small real estate developers in China: A case study of Guangzhou

Abstract: Nowadays, the skyrocket price of residential house due to lack of houses in cities becomes a crucial problem in China. The development of commercial real estate industry is not only an emerging real estate industry, but also plays a mediating role in solving the problem of lack of houses and high-price to some extent, as a mature commercial real estate market in the city gives birth to a core business centre in the downtown and many sub-business areas in different districts in the city. It is able to create jobs in different areas and to spread the population more averagely. Instead of gathering everybody in the centre, it is going to solve the problem of imbalance of supply and demand for houses and the high price in some areas, which is especially important for the big cities in China like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. This thesis is going to explore some new financing options for the small and medium-sized commercial real estate developers and provide some suggestions accordingly. Financing options like REITs, real estate fund, CBMS and mezzanine financing are discussed. In addition, taking Guangzhou, one of the first-tier cities in China, as a case study we have gained a further understanding of the real financing problems in commercial real estate. Some suggestions on the financing options of small and medium commercial real estate developers are proposed according to the academic and practical experiences.