Chinese investors go on property buying spree in Europe
Mainland investments in the European property market tripled last year, with Britain and Germany as the top destinations, and the momentum is likely to continue this year.
Mainland investments in the European property market tripled last year, with Britain and Germany as the top destinations, and the momentum is likely to continue this year.
Insurers, developers and wealthy individuals have joined China's sovereign wealth fund in seeking to diversify their assets outside Asia, research firm Real Capital Analytics (RCA) said yesterday.
Mainland investors bought commercial properties worth €3.05 billion (HK$32.2 billion) across Europe last year, compared with €978 million in 2012, according to RCA data.
The number of buildings acquired, including those that formed part of portfolio transactions, rose to 43 from 10.
Gingko Three, an investment arm of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, was the mainland's most active buyer, acquiring 16 properties for €1.82 billion, RCA said.
"It is hard to see cross-border capital flows from China into European commercial real estate slowing anytime soon," said RCA's director of market analysis Joseph Kelly.