In an amendment to foreign investment rules, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), have re-categorized villa construction and management from “restricted” to “prohibited”. The change, contained in the revised Catalogue of Industries for Guiding Foreign Investment (2011 Amendments), means that foreign investment in this type of real estate business is banned in the future. But in the absence of a clear definition, there is no certainty in the property industry about what qualifies as a villa. In the past, the central government appeared to have accepted the concept that a villa meant a single detached court villa, global law firm Mayer Brown noted in a commentary on the revised catalogue. This indicated that any semi-detached villa, townhouse, overlapped villa or penthouse might not be categorized as a villa real estate project. However, the Ministry of Land and Resources is considering an official definition of the term “villa” that might embrace semi-detached villas or townhouses, thus banning foreign investment in such “quasi-villa” projects. The impact of the rule change is expected to be limited as the prohibition of any land supply for villas has been provided for in various rules since February 2003. Law firm Morgan Lewis said the revisions showed the central government’s increasing desire to encourage foreign investment in high technology, high-end manufacturing, clean energy, energy saving, environmental protection and modern services.