China pours $10.7 billion into overseas real estate in first half
New York remains top destination with US$5.1bn in first six months. UK sees 75pc rise to US$1.7bn, particularly from private banks and conglomerates
Chinese capital outflow decreased in the first half of 2016, although deals in the latter part of the year will lift outbound investment to the same levels as last year, analysts say.
A new report from Knight Frank Research says this year has seen “waves of Chinese outbound capital” worth US$10.7 billion (HK$83 billion), a 13.6 per cent drop from last year.
But it added the first six months of 2015 provided a high base for comparison, since there were historically large real estate deals such as Anbang Insurance’s US$1.95 billion purchase of New York’s Waldorf Astoria.
“Chinese investment was gaining momentum as we crossed the half-year mark,” the report said. “Since June there have been deals in the making that promise to turn 2016 into another productive year.”
While China’s economy has slowed recently, the country’s investors remain interested in global markets, particularly in primary real estate, its analysts said.
High land prices in Chinese cities – for which the government has recently rolled out cooling measures to temper overheating markets – “has encouraged capital to seek overseas opportunities,” Knight Frank added.