Developers discover room for growth overseas

As more Chinese look for ways to invest abroad, the country's real estate companies are following the money, reports Hu Yuanyuan

Amid continued talk of a bursting domestic real estate bubble, Chinese property developers' overseas expansion has picked up steam this year.

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Just during the first quarter this year, leading developers, including China Vanke Co Ltd and Greenland Group Co Ltd, announced plans to invest more than 50 billion yuan ($8.17 billion) overseas.

Shanghai-based Greenland Group has so far been the most aggressive, having announced three large foreign investments this year totaling more than 40 billion yuan.

The company will enter three to five new markets this year, including Canada, France and Singapore, Chairman Zhang Yuliang said.

Greenland just raised its overseas sales target to 20 billion yuan in 2014, from 13 billion yuan originally. Overseas sales reached 3 billion yuan in 2013.

"We plan to boost our overseas sales to 30 billion yuan by 2015," Zhang added.

The aggressive expansion plan overseas, according to Zhang, is an extension of the strategy followed in the domestic market, where the developer has been striving to meet demand from China's middle class and its newly rich buyers.

Almost 25 percent of Asia's ultra-high-net-worth individuals in Asia ($30 million or more in net assets, excluding a primary residence) are considering purchasing another home in the next 12 months, according to a report from Knight Frank and Bank of China International Ltd.

Residents of China express the highest level of interest, at 31 percent, compared with the global average of 22 percent, the report said.

When expanding overseas, adapting to different regulatory and legal environments is a key task, and a global management team also matters, said Zhang.

As for the product, Zhang said the choice depends on profitability, local policy requirements and market demand. Most of Greenland's overseas projects are complexes including residential, retail and hotel facilities.

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