Around the world in 25 themes

Singapore Leonard Tay, head of research, Knight Frank Singapore

In urbanised Singapore, many real estate opportunities take the form of city-type buildings with high-intensity use. As such, private investors might be drawn instead to the historical charm of the city's limited inventory of low-rise conservation shophouses. These unique properties can be used for family office space, or leased to businesses including retail and food and beverage for recurring income in areas that have been gentrified or are undergoing gentrification.

Strata office units (where individual office space within a building can be bought and owned) in the Central Business District (CBD) could also be popular. These units, totalling only about 17 per cent of total office stock, will be useful in the post-pandemic office era where smaller and more flexible office space will feature.

Australia Ben Burston, chief economist,  Knight Frank Australia

Green hydrogen production, supported by federal and state investment, has the potential to make a substantial contribution to the clean energy transition while underpinning a new export industry. Australia has identified 262,000 sq km of coastal land suitable for hydrogen production, more than enough to meet the Hydrogen Council's predicted global demand for 2050.

Growing government support for the sector, including through federal funding to make childcare more affordable, has increased the attractiveness of childcare centres as an asset class.

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Pubs provide strong lease covenants and reliable income streams, and those located in attractive lifestyle destinations are underpinned by high land values with substantial upside potential, given the positive outlook for domestic tourism post-lockdown. The market is highly fragmented with limited institutional involvement, so it is more accessible for private capital.

UAE James Lewis, managing director, Knight Frank Middle East and Africa

Agritech and aquaculture are booming in the Middle East. Due to climate constraints, the Gulf region usually imports 80 per cent of its food.

Abu Dhabi is investing US$100 million in 4 agritech companies, the first stage of a larger US$272 million agritech support programme. Dubai-based Fish Farm, launched in 2013, produced 600 tonnes of salmon in 2020, rising to 1,000 tonnes in 2021 and eventually to more than 10,000 tonnes a year.

Covid-19 has also driven what appears to be a permanent shift in online shopping habits across the region, significantly ramping up demand for distribution warehouses. With this dynamic expected to not only persist but intensify, industrial warehouse assets have never been more popular.

Hong Kong Martin Wong, head of research and consultancy, Knight Frank Greater China

As per the city's 2021 Policy Address, the concept of the Northern Metropolis, which involves the development of an IT hub near the border with mainland China, construction of up to 186,000 homes and a new cross-border railway linking the city to the Qianhai economic zone in Shenzhen, has drawn a lot of investment interest from both developers and private investors.

Industrial assets and commercial mixed-use developments in particular offer opportunities.

France David Bourla, chief economist and head of research, Knight Frank France

Vineyards are of interest, with the French wine market seeing a healthy rise in exports. In the first half of 2021, France exported 7.3 million hectolitres of wine, 15 per cent up on the first half of 2019, according to Vitisphere. There are winegrowing land groups, such as Atream, that specialise in vineyard investment.

Another opportunity for sustainability conscious investors is forestry, which has a relatively low entry point from 2,000 euros (S$3,009) per hectare.

Chinese mainland Regina Yang, head of research and consultancy, Knight Frank Shanghai and Beijing

Healthcare assets - including larger assets such as medical research and life sciences facilities and smaller assets such as medical centres and pharmacies - will benefit from long-term structural tailwinds such as ageing populations and a rise in healthcare spending.

Healthcare is fast becoming the next sector in mainland China to attract significant amounts of investment from private equity, representing around 41 per cent of deals by number and 20 per cent by value in 2020, according to StepStone.

New Zealand Chris Farhi, head of insights, data and consulting, Bayleys Real Estate

In the residential space, build-to-rent, waterfront properties and 3-in-1 conversions (the ability to build 3 properties) all offer opportunities.

In addition, self-storage units are offering value through the underlying land. These assets typically have high occupancy levels, with the potential for strong income and capital growth.

Many are looking to leisure and hospitality as it will form the second part of the post-pandemic recovery. Hotels, tourism businesses and golf resorts all look interesting.

Indonesia Syarifah Syaukat, senior research advisor, Knight Frank Indonesia

The pandemic has created the opportunity to increase the agricultural productivity of arable farmland around secondary cities and there are prospects for further growth.

There is a lot of interest in digital infrastructure, such as data centres and micro-fulfilment and central fulfilment centres in metropolitan areas.

Growth potential is very high as the global economy continues to digitise, and returns are often less correlated to the business cycle than traditional infrastructure assets such as airports, ports and toll roads.

Czech Republic Ondrej Vlk, head of research and consultancy, Knight Frank Czech Republic

Retail parks proved to be pandemic-proof thanks to their tenant mix and open layout, which enabled them to stay open even during lockdown, and investors seem to appreciate that. Logistics is the product that everyone wants, but rarely gets traded, which helps yield compression, but in combination with rental growth still represents good investment opportunities.

Taiwan Andy Huang, research director, REPro Knight Frank

We are starting to see industrial zones located outside of the CBD in Taipei. There is a specific lean to constructing prime offices generally and these are attracting a lot of investment. Urban renewal is becoming more popular, especially in the CBD with old offices being converted into prime housing through the application of government subsidies offered to those renovating unsafe buildings.

Kenya Ben Woodhams, head of Knight Frank's Africa desk and former MD, Knight Frank Kenya

Assisted living for the elderly has not been common in much of Africa, but we are currently seeing a substantial investment in this sector as the concept catches on. We are also expecting a series of data centres to be developed close to the geothermal springs of the Great Rift Valley - the power-hungry facilities making use of geothermal energy produced by the volcanic activity in the region.

This article first appeared in the Knight Frank's The Wealth Report 2022.