Highly respected Caijing Magazine in Beijing had this to say about the country’s real estate situation. Key points in the article:

Under the tight credit controls of the past half year, developers are desperately searching for a means to boost capital through a broad range of methods, including going public, refinancing, bond issuance, selling projects, or even by quitting existing deals. However, few have managed to alleviate the pressure of shortened funds. A number of mainland property firms have postponed their plans to list in Hong Kong due to the poor market performance of real estate stocks. … The capital drought has forced many developers to sell a share, or in other cases all, of current projects.

Why is this relevant to Canadian investors? China’s “insatiable” appetite for materials for their infrastructure spending spree is supposed to keep the global commodity boom going. If that boom is over, Canada is up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

Hopefully, Chinese developers can get their funding, because it’s clear that the country needs more shopping malls — just like this one.