DROWNING IN DOLLARS

摘要

For years, Shanghai mortgage broker Linda Liu happily parked most of the money she saved while living in San Diego in U. S. securities. But lately she has been hearing rumors that China will revalue the yuan, which for nine years has been pegged at 8.28 to the dollar. Some analysts figure the yuan could appreciate up to 30%. So, like many other Chinese with offshore holdings, Liu decided to bring her money back home. She sold some U. S. stocks and made a downpayment on a $160,000 apartment in Shanghai's tony Jingan district. "I'd rather have my money in property," says Liu. "Besides, if the yuan is going to be revalued at six to a dollar, you've just made money." Rational behavior, perhaps. But worrying, as well, for Beijing's financial mandarins. By rushing to swap their dollars for yuan, Chinese investors and savers are demonstrating that the mounting calls in the U. S., Europe, and Japan for Beijing to revalue its currency already are starting to influence financial markets―even though China insists it will maintain the peg. More ominously, as citizens such as Liu―as well as overseas Chinese from Taiwan to Toronto―plow those funds into mainland assets, there are fears the overvalued yuan could fuel a nasty bubble. In Shanghai, prices for luxury flats have risen 62% since 1999, to around $1,400 per square meter.