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China Moving into Skyscrapers
A new skyscraper is built every five days in China and by 2016 the country will have 800, four times the number in the US, according to a report released Monday by the Shanghai-based Skyscrapers Magazine. Hong Kong had the most skyscrapers of any Chinese city with 58. Five of the world's 10 tallest buildings are in China.China started construction on more than 200 skyscrapers this year, a figure equal to the total number of skyscrapers in the US, according to the report. However, some experts say skyscraper construction, initially seen as a way of saving land, has degenerated into an image project for the country. But skyscrapers save land, which China is woefully short of. They're not? The 421-meter-tall Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai's second tallest building, cost $3,088 per square meter to build. However, the building costs more than a $150,000 per day to maintain now that it is in use. Even cities with fewer than a million residents have undertaken skyscraper projects. I think Caper should have one. Billings, too. "If space in the skyscraper can't be sold or leased, skyscraper construction could lead to bad debt if investors borrowed money to finance the project," said another expert. Well, we know all about that, don't we. Maybe we can advise the Chinese how to package the bad debt to make a bundle. Just have the Chinese debt bundled with all those AAA US treasury securities they own and sell them as tranches to investors, Fannie Mae and the Federal Reserve. What could go wrong? Posted by: Bobby 2011-06-09 |
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