Citic Capital to accelerate UK, US and Japan property investment, despite capital flight curbs

Citic Capital, the Chinese state-owned asset management firm, is looking to accelerate its overseas investment in Britain, the United States and Japan to meet growing demand from clients, despite China stepping up its efforts at tightening capital outflows.

“Chinese investors needing to put capital overseas for diversification, will continue to be a sign of the times,” Stanley Ching, head of real estate at Citic Capital, told the South China Morning Post.

He added the investment house is on track to make investments in the UK, the US and Japan, and is also looking at opportunities in Hong Kong and Southeast Asian countries.

Established in 2005, Citic Capital’s real estate business has been largely focused on the mainland market in the past, investing in some 20 projects with a collective asset value of over US$8 billion mainly in residential, retail and commercial properties.

In May, however, it teamed up with China’s Cindat Capital Management to buy a major stake in an ongoing, 32-unit luxury London residential property development project being built at 60 Curzon Street in London, for around US$155 million.

Although its first London project has been hit by pound’s Brexit plunge, Ching said Citic Capital will continue to push on with its invest activities in Britain and elsewhere in the West.