Mainland investors poured in US$1.6b investments in Hong Kong

This is almost 70% of all cross-border investments in the city.

Outbound investment from China remained the largest source of capital for cross-border real estate investments in Asia in the first half of 2017, according to CBRE.

Hong Kong alone has attracted US$1.6 billion from mainland China investors in the first half of 2017, accounting for almost 70% of all cross-border investment made in city. Chinese sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) emerged as the largest single outbound investor class in the first half, driving total capital deployment to US$25.6 billion versus US$10.1 billion year-on-year.

China-based property companies and conglomerates have also been considerable buyers of offshore real estate assets in the first six months of 2017.

Recently, a new round of capital controls issued by the State Council and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) was issued on August 18, with a focus on offshore real estate investments.

However, according to CBRE, this regulatory move may not affect the medium to longer term appetite for outbound investment, but potentially re-shape investment strategies going forward.

“New regulations should help to ensure that future outbound investment is more financially sound and strategically focused, but the impact of Chinese capital on key global real estate markets should continue for some time,” Robert Fong, Director of Research, CBRE Asia Pacific.