Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
IP addresses are NOT logged in this forum so there's no point asking. Please note that this forum is full of homophobes, racists, lunatics, schizophrenics & absolute nut jobs with a smattering of geniuses, Chinese chauvinists, Moderate Muslims and last but not least a couple of "know-it-alls" constantly sprouting their dubious wisdom. If you believe that content generated by unsavory characters might cause you offense PLEASE LEAVE NOW! Sammyboy Admin and Staff are not responsible for your hurt feelings should you choose to read any of the content here. The OTHER forum is HERE so please stop asking.
Investors from North America and Europe reduced their spending in Asia Pacific by more than 50% in 2023 compared with the year before. Investment from Canada and Europe plunged by 75% and 79%, respectively. An exception to this retreat was capital bound for Japan.
As a result, global investors’ share of Asia Pacific acquisition activity fell to just 9%, the second-lowest level for a calendar year on record. Besides Singaporean investors, Japanese investors likewise ramped up their spending significantly last year. Their outlay in 2023 was more than that for 2020 to 2022 combined. Australia was by far their most significant target market. The sale of Sydney commercial tower, 60 Margaret Street, to Mitsubishi Estate and partner Syndey-based AsheMorgan for A$777 million ($680 million) last October marked Australia’s biggest single asset deal of the year.
Chinese investors still go for Singapore
Hong Kong investors maintained their activity compared with the three-year average, but the bulk of that capital found its way into China. Investors from China, however, did not reciprocate. While their activity level in Hong Kong was maintained at the three-year prior average, their primary target was Singapore, says MSCI. Chinese investors acquired a record $1.5 billion of Singaporean properties in 2023, the second consecutive year they spent more in Singapore than Hong Kong.
Still, the vast majority of Chinese capital continues to be focused domestically, as noted by MSCI. The lack of appetite from international capital sources means domestic investors face less competition within the Chinese market. Exchange rates and geopolitical risk, cited as the main impediments for foreign investors, are less of a concern for domestic institutions. “These investors have been able to take advantage of falling interest rates and heightened yields to pick up choice assets,” says Chow.
It is most evident for insurance-backed capital, which accounted for almost RMB40 billion ($7.5 billion) in deal volume, a 12% increase over 2022. It contrasts significantly with China’s overall decline in deal activity. “Notably, insurance players tend to target core strategies as they seek stable, less risky returns,” according to Chow. “Like other major markets, this has coincided with a pivot towards the industrial and living sectors, while office allocations have fallen dramatically.”
For 2023, commercial real estate deals fell by 28% to US$139.7 billion. It was the lowest annual tally since 2012, according to MSCI, and is attributed to the spike in interest rates across major markets over the past two years. Japan was one of the major exceptions, tempering the regional decline in activity with a solid showing in 2023.
Deal activity in Asia Pacific centred around private buyers picking up hotel and retail properties across most of the region. Institutional buyers targeted growth sectors and markets with strong tailwinds, such as data centres, student housing, logistics in Japan, build-to-rent in Australia and rental apartments in China.
