UBS plans to expand into China commercial property

[SYDNEY] UBS AG, Switzerland's biggest bank, is planning to expand its Chinese property investment business with a move into commercial real estate.

Office, retail and industrial properties are "where investor demand is certainly moving to" in China, Trevor Cooke, head of global real estate for Asia-Pacific at UBS Global Asset Management, said in an interview in Sydney. "The stock of investment grade assets in China is growing at about 35 per cent per year."

The bank would either partner with a developer or a company with an abil…