China developers venture out in a big way

[LOS ANGELES] Property developers from China are committing billions of dollars to projects around the world, from apartment towers in Brooklyn, New York and a new business district in the UK to a residential redevelopment in Sydney and mixed-use buildings in downtown Los Angeles.

Regulatory restrictions at home and concerns that the Chinese property market is overheating are spurring companies to venture outside their country for the first time and look far afield for construction opportunities.

"Chinese companies are getting bigger, so they want to diversify beyond their home base," said Goodwin Gaw, co-founder and chairman of Hong Kong-based Gaw Capital Partners, which is raising as much as US$500 million for its first US-focused fund, to be used for real estate development and management. "They feel like it's their time."