Why Buy Shimao?

1. Size. It’s the largest privately owned developer in China. The number 1 and 2 companies are owned by the government. It has been around for 25 years and at the end of 2003, it opened to the US market to establish its international branding.

2. Strength. Shimao is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange stock #00813, with HK$600 billion in assets, which is its parent company. All financial statements and operations are very transparent. The profit margin is less than 20%, but it’s still higher than all its competitors. It’s also listed on the Shanghai stock exchange as stock #00823; with RMB 200 billion in assets.

3. Hospitality. Shimao is the second largest developer in the hotel business, number 1 is owner of Hotel Shangrila. Shimao has over 30 five-stars hotels being built right now.

4. Luxury. Shimao is famous for building high-end estates. Its founder is from Fukin, and lives at the top of the Peak area in Hong Kong. The estate is one of the most expansive in the city. Bought for HK$ 21 billion, it’s now worth about HK$ 41 billion. Shimao is also developing a very limited number of extreme high-end estates in the Peak area.

5. Integrated Planning. Shimao’s top business focus is always on the residential real estate market. In order to enhance and protect its real estate value, Shimao is building department stores and theaters as part of its developments.

6. Influence. Shimao’s most recent project is the largest real estate project in DaLian— the Carnival project. It will be the largest development invested in by the Shimao group, with total investment estimated to reach RMB 50 billion. The plan includes an outdoor theme park, and an ultra large indoor theme park covering about 17 million square meters.

7. Availability. Shimao has five projects in five different cities projects with units for sale to U.S. buyers.

Shanghai’s One Shimao Riviera Garden— Ranked as China’s highest-altitude residence by the Guinness Book of World Records. Seven super-high buildings were built along the river, surrounded by forests in the back and rivers in the front.

A top-floor unit was selling at around US$ 600,000 few years ago, but now the price point has reached US$ 3.5 million, costing about RMB 10,000 per square meter. Prices are expected to go higher next year as Sun Hung Ki—another Hong Kong developer—is going to finish and begin selling their adjacent development at RMB 20,000 per square meter. By comparison, Shimao Riviera Garden has a much better view and location.

Hangzhou Shimao Riviera Garden— Located in the last residential development that can view the lake. The first phase was sold out at RMB 7,000 per square meter a couple of years ago, while the phase two is selling at an average of RMB 20,000 per square meter, setting the cost of a 250 square meter unit at around US$ 800,000.

Kunshan Shimao Butterfly Bay— This development consists of over 6,000 townhouses, villas and apartments. Kunshan is an industrial city that is situated about a 30 minute drive from Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai. An express train is being built that will take passengers from Shanghai to Kunshan in just 15 minutes. Kunshan’s strategic location and convenient transportation between major cities makes it a prime candidate for strong future growth. Due to its close proximity to Shanghai, Kunshan is often referred to as "The Tenth Town of Shanghai". Kunshan is also sometimes referred to as "Small Taiwan" as over 600,000 Taiwanese citizens reside or work in that city every day. Many of these Taiwan residents are successful business people who own factories and wholesale businesses in Kunshan. This industrial powerhouse city also boasts factories for 100 of the Top 500 businesses in the world.

The community was selling its last phase at RMB 5,000 per square meter, but it’s now rising to RMB 11,000 per square meter. The smallest unit is about 92 meters square (about 990 sq. f.t), costing about US$144,000.

Yantai’s Shimao No.1 the Harbour— Located at the seafront square in the downtown area of Yantai City, Yantai Shimao No.1 The Harbour enjoys an excellent location, standing against the hills and facing the sea. With a land area of 34,700 square meters and an aggregate floor area of 280,000 square meters, the project comprises three 54- to 59-floor towers for businesss and apartments, and a 57-floor, 323-meter tower for integrated use. The project is planned to be the highest landmark seashore architectural development in Yantai and the Jiaozhou Peninsula, consisting of super five star hotels, full sea-view high-end apartments, plus buildings for retail businesses and offices.

Currently the company is selling the high rise condos with the best views, sized from 76 to 280 meters square, at US$ 140,000 to US$ 550,000.

There is also a limited amount of commercial space ranging from 16 to 98 square meters, priced from US$ 68,000 to US$ 358,000. Commercial spaces are all located inside of Shimao Shopping Mall, to be rented out by the landlord with an average return of 8% per year for the next 10 years.

Xiamen’s Shimao Lakeside Garden— Xiamen is a clean and beautiful island, just a ferry ride away from Taiwan. Visiting Xiamen for the first time a few weeks ago, it reminded me of a very quiet island in Hawaii. And with amazingly tasty seafood!

The new Shimao construction will finish at the end of 2012, with the average price from RMB 20,000 to RMB 40,000 per square meter. The site is on the east side of a very large preserved lake, with enough clear, drinkable water to supply the whole island for one month. As it’s a preserved lake, it’s closed to in-water recreational use, and its shores are lushly landscaped. A jogging trail is to be built surrounding the lake, and markets, restaurants and bars will be setting up between the Shimao lakeside garden and the trail. There will 6 villa buildings and 13 high rises, all with different heights and elevations to maximize the view from each unit.

Shimao has always chosen units with the best view and best location to be sold in the U.S.. This time there will only be 15 units available for sale on May 15-16 in LA, sized from 147 to 245 square meters, costing from US$ 440,000 to US$ 800,000. . . . . . .

If these descriptions have piqued your interest and you’d like more information, check out www.shimaousa.com ... Or contact me at 1-310-259-1525.

I will be at the Shimao Sales Convention on May 15-16, from 10am-5pm, at the Hilton Pasadena Hotel, Pasadena, CA.

See you there!

—Clara