Hotel, industry and travel news from around Greater China; this week: China wants more Russian tourists, New World Hospitality wants HK listing, Wyndham and more....

BEIJING INTENDS TO LOOSEN CONTROL OVER INTEREST RATES

According to Taipei Time and Bloomberg, Beijing signalled that it will take steps to loosen state control over interest rates and the yuan as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang seeks to open up the economy to sustain growth. Beijing will roll out new measures in promoting interest-rate and exchange-rate liberalization, as well as in developing a multilevel capital market. However, the government was not more specific on the types of changes to interest-rate and exchange-rate policy.  
 
GUANGDONG PROVINCE TO COOL HOUSING SECTOR

According to China Daily, Guangdong provincial government has unveiled rules to curb rising housing prices, and promised to strictly enforce the country's new 20 percent income tax on home sellers' capital gains. In accordance to Guangdong Province Government's order, all Guangdong cities are required to introduce their own specific measures to help bring rising property prices to reasonable levels while strictly enforcing the central government's policies on curbing real estate prices. Guangdong has become the first province to introduce specific rules on curbing property prices in the mainland after the State Council announced the new capital gains tax.  
 
CHINA STARTS YEARLONG PROGRAM TO ATTRACT MORE RUSSIAN VISITORS

According to China Daily, President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, aim to boost tourism and exchanges between the two countries. In 2012, "The Year of Russian Tourism" in China saw the number of Chinese visitors to Russia reach 343,000, up 47 percent from 2011. 
 
WYNDHAM EXPANDS IN CHINA

According to Wyndham Worldwide, the Hotel Group surpassed the 500 property mark in China with the addition of 8 new Ramada properties. The group currently has 543 hotels and 67,559 rooms in the country. China now accounts for the largest number of Wyndham Hotel Group properties in the Asia Pacific region. Wyndham is also the largest US based hotel company in China. 

SUN ART TO OPEN MORE THAN 50 NEW STORES IN CHINA IN 2013

According to Retail in Asia, China's largest hypermarket chain, Sun Art Retail Group, plans to open more than 50 new stores in China this year as it increasingly taps growth in less developed cities. Sun Art's expansion comes as foreign rivals such as Carrefour and Wal-Mart have shut down stores in China, while other retailers such as UK's Tesco and Germany's Metro are slowing their growth plans in the country. Hong Kong-listed Sun Art entered the China market in 1998, three years after Wal-Mart, but overtook the US behemoth in 2010 and has extended its lead since. Sun Art opened 43 new hypermarkets last year, bringing its total to 273 hypermarkets in mainland China at the end of 2012. 

NEW WORLD HOTELS PONDERS ON HONG KONG LISTING

According to the Wall Street Journal, New World Development Co., controlled by billionaire Cheng Yu-Tung, plans to raise up to US$1 billion by listing its hospitality assets in Hong Kong. With its listing plans, New World becomes the latest company to try to take advantage of Hong Kong's booming property and tourism sectors. 

www.HVS.com