China's Fosun buys Sydney Tower with partner for insurance unit

[SYDNEY] China's Fosun Group and fund manager Propertylink are buying a Sydney office building for A$116.5 million (US$92 million), the second large real estate purchase this week in the city as Chinese firms scout for investments abroad.

They will buy the 14,672-square-meter (158,000-square-foot) tower at 73 Miller Street in North Sydney, according to statements from the two buyers. The building will be held by Fosun's insurance unit, the Chinese company said.

The purchase follows Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co's A$414.7 million acquisition of Gold Fields House at Circular Quay from Blackstone Group LP. Prime commercial real estate from London to New York has drawn interest from Chinese property firms and insurance companies, which drove cross-border deals to about US$700 billion last year, the highest since 2008.

"Australia has been a very attractive market for property investment," Xu Xiaoliang, Fosun's vice president said in the statement. "We do hope that we can get more deals done in the future." The Miller Street building is 100 per cent leased by the New South Wales government. Propertylink is a Sydney-based real estate and infrastructure fund company with more than A$2 billion of assets under management.

Fosun, controlled by billionaire Guo Guangchang, agreed to acquire US insurer Meadowbrook Insurance Group Inc for US$433 million last month and is bidding for control of French resort company Club Mediterranee SA.

BLOOMBERG