Interview with: Feng Jiang, Design Director, China Vanke

1. Interview with: Feng Jiang, Design
Director, China Vanke
“Most real estate developers in China
today are focused on getting instant
results with their investments and
not necessarily developing very
sustainable infrastructure. Their
short-sighted view will create problems
in the future, and they might have to
spend a lot of money and time on
solving those issues,” says Feng Jiang,
Design Director, China Vanke, the
largest residential real estate developer
in China.
Jiang is a keynote speaker at the
upcoming marcus evans Asian
I n f r a s t r u c t u r e & P r o p e r t y
Development Summit 2013, in
Macao, Asia Pacific, 21 - 22 October.
Could you give us a brief overview
on the Chinese real estate market?
W h a t a r e t h e in v e s t m en t
opportunities?
In China there is a housing bubble right
now in tier one and two cities. The price
of housing has skyrocketed, and in
some cases it is more than 20 times
people’s annual income. Most real
estate developers are looking for instant
results. That is human nature. They
develop to sell and get a return, as
quick as possible. However, this is not a
sustainable way of doing business. They
should not have such a short-sighted
view.
At the moment, China is growing wildly
without logic and proper standards,
which will be a problem in the future.
Vanke does not participate in this trend.
We try to build affordable housing,
developing large areas on the outskirts
of cities where land prices are cheaper,
to meet the demand from working class
people. That is how we are trying to
solve the issue of the overheating
Chinese real estate market.
How does Vanke combine design
and comfort, while ensuring
affordability for customers?
We have a number of cost control
strategies in place. We have standard-
ised our design and construction
processes, and use our own materials
when possible. We can also negotiate
lower prices with our suppliers due to
the large volumes involved.
In terms of the design, our aim is to be
a bit more stylish than some other
products in the market, but not very
different looking in order to
accommodate different tastes. Our
buildings have a simple and modern
look, as that keeps our costs down. At
the same time, we are very keen on
quality control. At the end of the day,
customers are looking for a quality
home to live in for at least 20 years.
Using quality materials may shrink our
return on investment, but we are not as
greedy as some other developers,
paying more attention to our reputation
than a quick return.
How do you ensure space is utilised
effectively?
The Chinese government’s new 90/70
rule means 70 per cent of units need to
be smaller or equal to 90 square
meters. It is Chinese custom that when
a couple has a baby, the parents move
in until the child is one to five years old.
People want a long-term place to stay,
so a 90 square meter housing unit has
to hold at least five people. The floor
design must be very efficiently designed
for three generations to live under the
same room comfortably.
We interview our customers to identify
how we can improve and ensure no
space is wasted.
Any final thoughts?
Developers must focus on sustainability,
otherwise issues will accumulate and
turn into a public problem. Governments
are not capable of solving this on their
own. Developers must not focus on the
very limited area of what they develop,
but on the bigger picture of developing
the city.
Customers
are looking
for a quality
home to
live in for
at least
20 years
Developing Sustainably in China:
Why Developers Need a More Far-Sighted Viewpoint

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