A rare and unusually public legal battle between two of China's most prominent property developers is raising eyebrows in the industry, as well as questions about the solidity of legal agreements there.
两家中国知名房地产开发商之间展开了一场罕见而极其公开的法律战，此事不仅令业内人士吃惊不已，也令外界对房地产业法律协议的可靠性产生了质疑。
It also illustrates the desire of big property developers to pick up choice properties from smaller rivals weakened by Beijing's more than two-year campaign to tame real-estate prices.
此事还表明，大型房地产开发商迫切希望从较小的竞争对手手中攫取优质房地产。中国政府推出已逾两年的抑制房价措施削弱了较小开发商的实力。
A Shanghai court is expected to begin hearing arguments this week in a suit filed in May by Shanghai-based Fosun International Ltd. against Beijing rival Soho China Ltd. Fosun is seeking to claim back its right to acquire a piece of land near Shanghai's prestigious Bund area.
预计上海一家法院本周将开庭审理这起复星国际有限公司(Fosun International Ltd.)今年5月对SOHO中国有限公司(Soho China Ltd.)提起的诉讼案。复星国际力争夺回收购上海外滩附近一个地块的权利。
Fosun owns half the commercial land, but the other half was sold last year to Soho by units of Fosun's former partners there. Fosun claims the other half should have been offered to it first. Soho says the suit is meritless.
复星国际持有这块商业用地的一半，另一半则被复星国际在上海的前合作伙伴的旗下公司于去年卖给了SOHO中国。复星国际声称，另一半本应优先卖给自己。而SOHO中国则说这一诉讼案毫无法律依据。
Other property players in the city are paying attention. 'It's unfortunate that they've gone to court,' said Vincent Lo, chairman of Shanghai-based developer Shui On Land. 'But if you look at this from a positive angle, it shows that Chinese companies are trying to settle their disagreements through proper legal procedures.'
上海其他房地产开发商都在密切关注此案。上海开发商瑞安房地产有限公司(Shui On Land)主席罗康瑞说，很遗憾他们选择了对簿公堂，但如果从积极的角度看，此案显示出中国公司开始努力通过正当法律程序解决分歧。
Indeed, legal experts say the suit could forge new ground in an industry where legal agreements often are short and lack specifics. Local Chinese parties generally prefer less detail in their contractual arrangements, said David Blumenfeld, a Shanghai-based partner at law firm Paul Hastings. The goal is to provide guidelines through which the parties can work out later disputes quietly over the negotiating table, avoiding China's often slow and cumbersome courts.
实际上，法律专家说，此案可能为房地产业奠定新的基础。在中国的房地产业，法律协议常常篇幅很短，并且不够详细明确。普衡律师事务所(Paul Hastings)驻上海合伙人布卢门菲尔德(David Blumenfeld)说，中国当事方常常不愿在合约性协议中做出详细规定。这样做的目的在于提供一些指导原则，让当事方在今后发生纠纷时能够通过谈判私下里进行解决，避免在中国走常常缓慢、繁琐的法庭程序。'The question on people's minds was, how could this happen?' said one real-estate consultant in Shanghai. 'They have to make sure their contracts are airtight.'
上海的一位房地产顾问说，人们心中的疑问是：怎么会发生这样的事？他们必须得确保合同滴水不漏。
The site in dispute, which covers 45,472 square meters (about 489,000 square feet), is located south of the Bund area along the Huangpu River, which cuts through the heart of mainland China's financial capital.
争议地块面积45,472平方米，位于外滩南部黄浦江沿岸地区。黄浦江是一条横贯中国内地金融中心上海的河流。
The winner could have an impact on the Bund's skyline. The planned building for the site will contain offices and some retail. Fosun, which calls the project the Bund International Financial Center, said it would be a landmark in Shanghai. Currently, work on the foundation of the north portion of the project is continuing, with the expected date of completion at end June 2014, according to signs at the construction site.
胜诉的一方可能对外滩的天际线产生重要影响。该地块上计划修建的建筑物将包括写字楼和一些零售店。复星国际将该项目称为“外滩国际金融中心”。该公司说，它将成为上海的一个地标。目前，该项目北部分的地基施工仍在继续。据工地上的牌子显示，项目预计于2014年6月底完工。
Fosun and Soho declined to provide details on their plans for the building, given the lawsuit.
鉴于双方处于诉讼期间，复星国际和SOHO中国拒绝就计划如何打造这一建筑群的问题提供有关细节。
Developer Shanghai Zendai Property Ltd. originally paid 9.22 billion yuan ($1.44 billion) to purchase the site in February 2010, as the property market still was climbing. The company sought an exit as credit dried up and the housing market soured. In November 2011, it sold half the property to Fosun and another 10% stake to developer Greentown China Holdings Ltd.
这幅地块最初是由开发商上海证大房地产有限公司(Shanghai Zendai Property Ltd., 简称：上海证大)于2010年2月斥资人民币92.2亿元（约合14.4亿美元）买下的，当时楼市还处于上升期。随着信贷紧缩和住房市场行情恶化，上海证大希望将这幅地块转手。2011年11月，上海证大将其中一半地块出售给复星国际，并将另外10%的权益出售给开发商绿城中国控股有限公司(Greentown China Holdings Ltd., 简称：绿城中国)。
In December, Greentown and Zendai agreed to sell their combined 50% stake in the land to Soho for 4 billion yuan. Fosun fired back the following day, saying it was surprised by the deal, and that it had the right to buy the remaining stake.
去年12月，绿城中国和上海证大同意将双方共同拥有的这幅地块50%的权益作价人民币40亿元出售给SOHO中国。复星国际在第二天就做出回应，称这宗交易令其感到意外，还说它有权优先购买剩下这一半的权益。
Fosun's suit also names Greentown and Zendai. The two companies declined to comment.
复星国际提起的诉讼还提到了绿城中国和上海证大的名字。这两家公司均不予置评。
The disputed transaction is one of a number by stronger players looking for opportunities in the downturn in China's property market. A number of Chinese developers took on too many projects during the market's boom years.
在中国房地产市场，因为实力更强的开发商在市中心寻找商机而引发的争议很多，上述存在争议的交易只是其中一宗。在楼市繁荣时期，一批中国开发商拿了太多项目。
Shanghai recorded more than 11.7 billion yuan worth of what are known as en-bloc commercial real-estate transactions in the second quarter, up from 4.3 billion yuan in the first quarter and 8.7 billion yuan in the same period a year earlier, according to property consulting firm Jones Lang LaSalle, despite sluggish activity in other parts of the Shanghai real-estate market. Such transaction involving existing buildings but excluding land and residential transactions primarily include properties that developers and investors sell to one another.
房地产咨询公司仲量联行(Jones Lang LaSalle)的数据显示，今年二季度，尽管上海房地产市场其它类型交易低迷，但上海商业房地产整体交易规模超过人民币117亿元，高于今年一季度43亿元的规模，也高于去年同期87亿元的水平。此类交易（涉及现有楼宇但不包括土地和住宅交易）主要包括开发商和投资者之间出售的房产。
'Owner-occupiers were especially active pursuing upcoming office projects in Pudong,' said Alan Li, head of investment for Jones Lang LaSalle Shanghai, referring to Shanghai's bustling Pudong district. Mr. Li said he expects that volumes will accelerate should debt financing become more widely available or less costly.
仲量联行上海投资部总监李凌说，浦东即将推出的写字楼项目尤其受到自住业主的追捧，这里他指的是上海繁华的浦东新区。李凌说，如果债务融资变得更加普及或成本变得低，预计交易量将加速上升。
As for the Bund International Financial Center, Fosun said that there is a possibility the company would move its headquarters to the new building from its current one less than one kilometer away. Owners of such buildings usually want to attract Fortune-500-type tenants.
至于外滩国际金融中心，复星国际说公司可能会将总部迁到新的建筑中来。复星国际当前的总部与这幅地块相距不足一公里。此类项目的所有者一般都希望吸引到《财富》(Fortune)500强企业的租客。
By contrast, Soho's main customers are small and medium-size Chinese businesses, including coal-mine owners. Soho's usual business model is to sell its office units on a piecemeal basis to small and midsize businesses, which would run counter to Fosun's plans for a swanky new building, said people familiar with Fosun.
相比之下，SOHO中国的主要客户群体是中小型中资企业，比如矿业企业。SOHO中国通常的业务模式是以零敲碎打的方式把办公面积出售给中小型企业。据接近复星国际的人士称，复星国际要建的是时髦奢华的大楼，跟SOHO中国的定位相悖。