The Ministry of Land and Resources is...>

CHINA PRESS: The Ministry of Land and Resources is leading a nationwide

examination of the sale of residential land to property developers, the Economic

Information Daily reported Wednesday. Provincial regulators are required to

submit summary reports by the end of this month. The campaign aims to clamp down

on the illegal practice of stocking up land for residential use and delays in

paying for the land or related taxes. The examination covers 70 medium to large

cities and the hotspot city Suzhou, as well as some cities that experienced

rapid growth of land and housing prices, such as Haikou and Sanya in Hainan

Province. The examination is looking at whether a property developer has begun

construction on time as indicated in its contract, the stage of the project and

the developer's payment for the land. An unidentified person working in the

property sector told the newspaper that the punishment for violating the law

with such projects is not strict enough. (Economic Information Daily)