East looks West in property buys as West looks East

IN an uncertain macro environment, large Asian investors are putting their faith in offshore bricks and mortar in record amounts. CBRE's Asia Outbound Investment H1 2017, published at the end of August 2017, showed a 98 per cent year-on-year increase in outbound property investment by Asian investors. Some US$45.2 billion was put into overseas property.

Hong Kong investors have also been investing a great deal overseas, with a string of high-profile investments in landmark London office buildings including the Cheesegrater skyscraper in the City of London by Hong Kong's C C Land Holdings Limited (which my own team was involved with) and more recently, the "Walkie Talkie" at 20 Fenchurch Street, which was acquired by Hong Kong's Lee Kum Kee.

While property remains a favoured asset class for Asian investors, there are some interesting shifts emerging in where the investment is going.