Shanghai attracts overseas investment in real estate

SHANGHAI became the largest recipient of cross-border real estate capital among Asian-Pacific cities in the first three quarters of this year, and the world’s third-largest destination for cross-border investment after Paris and London, international property consultancy JLL said in a report released yesterday.

Despite uncertainties over trade friction between China and the US, overseas investors spent a record US$5.9 billion in Shanghai’s commercial real estate during the first nine months of 2019, a surge of 235 percent from the same period a year earlier, JLL said.

“Shanghai’s real estate market remains one of the most dynamic in the world with a proven ability to effectively embrace changes in technology, absorb rapid economic growth and improve global connectivity,” said Jeremy Kelly, JLL’s global research director. “The city’s rise as an investment destination has been rapid.”

By the end of the third quarter of 2018, Shanghai ranked as the world’s seventh-largest city recipient of cross-border real estate investments, and within 12 months, it jumped four places to beat mainstays like New York and Hong Kong.

Between January and September, the most significant cross-border transaction in Shanghai was Brookfield Asset Management’s acquisition of Greenland Huangpu Center for US$1.55 billion.

Other notable purchases by foreign investors include Keppel Capital’s purchase of Yifang Plaza and the acquisition of a majority stake in Pufa Tower by a joint venture between AEW and CapitaLand.