Keen foreign interest in Beijing property

BEIJING • Foreign investors have been increasingly active in Beijing's property market this year, with their transactions projected to reach a record high in 2019, industry experts said.

DTZ China's capital market department deputy managing director Liu Bing said: "We see an increasing proportion of foreign investors participating in Beijing's property market this year, and we are expecting another round of brisk investment this year. This is mainly due to the appreciation of the dollar since last year and tightening financing channels for domestic players."

According to DTZ, foreign investors have reached 10 block deals valued at more than 25 billion yuan (S$5 billion) in Beijing's property market from the beginning of last year till the first quarter of this year.

Statistics from JLL indicate that foreign investors continue to show interest in the market this year.

As an example, Dinghao Electronics Plaza in Zhongguancun was purchased by a joint venture of the Partners Group, The Family Office, SDP Investments and The Carlyle Group for around nine billion yuan.

JLL Beijing head of capital markets Michael Wang said: "Given the strong presence of leading and fast-growing IT firms in the area, Zhongguancun remains a bright spot for investment opportunities in Beijing.

"Due to the lack of commercial leasing space in the IT-driven submarket, rapidly expanding companies are increasingly choosing to purchase entire buildings to meet large office requirements."

CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 22, 2019, with the headline Keen foreign interest in Beijing property. Subscribe