A waiter at the official launch of a new hotel brand in China called Hualuxe. (Photo : Reuters)
Chinese investors have been featured prominently in Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.'s (JLL) forecast for 2015, which has released data on offshore properties, including commercial real estate and hotel investments.
In JLL's "2015 Hotel Investment Outlook" report, the firm's hospitality experts expect worldwide hotel-transaction volumes to reach an eight-year high of between $65 and $68 billion this year, which would place it 15 percent above the volumes of last year.
In overall offshore-property investment terms, JLL announced on Jan. 26 that it expects Chinese investors to spend $20 billion on offshore real estate in 2015, which represents a 21-percent increase upon the level of investment in 2014.
According to JLL, a higher number of domestic real-estate developers and insurers are seeking to internationalize their holdings, which underpins the significant rise in the level of investment.
Government action has also been influential, as David Green-Morgan, the head of global research for International Capital Group at JLL, explained to reporters:
"The easing of restrictions over the last a few years by the Chinese government has (made it) . . . much easier for institutions as well as individuals to move money overseas."
Green-Morgan's statement refers to the easing of policy restrictions on major foreign investments by China's Ministry of Commerce, which also simplified the approval process for overseas property acquisitions. Chinese investors subsequently ventured smoothly into key global markets like New York, London and Sydney.
In the hotel industry, Chinese investors are expected to invest around $5 billion in an $8.5-billion Asia Pacific market. JLL's Scott Hetherington, who is the CEO of the firm's Asian hospitality division, said:
"China's policy change allows numerous investors to compete in international real estate for assets including hotels and we expect this heightened level of activity to become the new norm with Chinese investors gaining scale in gateway cities."
The major players in the offshore property market include Chinese insurers Ping An Insurance Group Co. of China and Anbang Insurance Group Co.
