On Monday, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly released a circular to further strengthen and regulate the supervising process of foreign-invested real estate, aimed at curbing excessive property speculation by foreign capital.

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The circular asks local governments to improve their supervision and examination of foreign investment in China's real estate market, especially in the high-end sector. Local authorities should also prevent foreign capital from controlling local real estate companies without legal procedure or approval. Local governments must send records of all approved foreign real estate companies to MOC.

If these foreign-funded real estate companies are caught cheating or not following proper procedures, they will be punished. The foreign exchange regulator will not approve these companies' foreign exchange account registrations, and will hold them responsible for foreign exchange frauds when capital and related earnings are sent abroad.

Foreign investors should obtain land-use rights or sign transfer contracts with landowners before developing real estate projects. Existing foreign-funded firms need to seek additional approval from the authorities to develop new projects. No party in the foreign-funded real estate project should promise a fixed return of investment in the contract, according to the circular.

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