Chinese buyers seeking ‘freedom’ snap up luxury property in Thailand: ‘this is my dream’

A flood of mainland Chinese have poured into Thailand this year, on the hunt for property they wouldn’t be able to afford in China’s first-tier cities

Some are thinking about retirement. For others, it’s the international schools and quality medical facilities – and ‘freedom of society, and life’

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Prospective property buyer Daniel Bian, from Shanghai, looks out the window of a luxury apartment in Bangkok last month. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:03am, 8 May 2023Updated: 10:10pm, 8 May 2023

Shanghai resident Daniel Bian drank in the sweeping views over the Thai capital as he lay on a deckchair beside a swimming pool on the 19th floor of a luxury condominium.

“I feel alive. I feel free,” said an excited Bian, dapper in tinted sunglasses, flat-topped navy blue hat and a wraparound tunic cinched at the waist, his hair hanging loosely to his shoulders. “This is my dream.”

Cooped up in China for three years under some of the world’s toughest curbs against Covid-19, Bian is among a flood of mainland Chinese hunting for property buys in the southeast Asian nation since Beijing reopened the borders earlier this year.

Many Chinese are eager to invest in a residence overseas, keen for a safety net in case of a similar disease outbreak, and also to hedge against economic risks at home.

Chinese tourists visit The Grand Palace in Bangkok on May 1. Thailand was the most popular outbound destination for travellers from mainland China during the May labour day holiday. Photo: Xinhua

Thailand was the most popular outbound destination for Chinese travellers during the May labour day holiday, data from website Trip.com showed, followed by Japan and South Korea.

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