How property developers could succeed globally

The derelict site of the Young's Ram Brewery in the Wandsworth borough of London. Greenland Holding Group Co is set to invest 1.2 billion pounds ($2 billion) on two property projects in London, including the Ram Brewery site. [Photo/Agencies]

China's appetite for cutting-edge technologies and quality assets has pushed its companies to seal 142 big-ticket acquisition deals abroad in the first quarter of the year, the Ministry of Commerce announced in April.

The diversification of outbound deals is "quite healthy" and encouraging for the future of China's business landscape, according to To.

"Nowadays, you see many more deals around acquiring technology, brand names, distribution networks overseas, and, in some cases, collaboration with multinational companies in overseas markets," To said.

Despite To's optimism, Li has concerns about the pace of Chinese outbound M&A. "Of course, it has been too fast," which has led to rapid decline in the country's foreign exchange reserves.

Yet, China's foreign exchange reserves rose for a second straight month in April, as fears about a weak yuan and capital outflow eased amid increasing signs of stabilizing economic growth.

China's foreign exchange reserves rose $7.1 billion from March to $3.22 trillion in April, central bank data showed.

This marked a second month of rise following the unexpected increase in March that put an end to a falling streak since November, according to data from the People's Bank of China.

The positive change followed five consecutive monthly declines, including a record slump of $108 billion in December and a $99.4-billion decline in January.

China's foreign exchange reserves last rose in October, when they stood at $3.53 trillion.

China's second-tier office markets "will have to see" a period of "stock clearance", caused by oversupply in recent years, Li of DTZ/Cushman Wakefield said.

"Overall, I think demand for office space is slowing because of oversupply. Demand is not as strong as it is in Shanghai and Beijing," Li said.

"We still see challenges in finding tenants or even buyers for some tier-2 cities," he said, noting it's because over the last few years, a lot of office building and retailing spaces were constructed.

"I think those have to get a bit of time to consume or feed other tenants or buyers," Li said, but pointed out markets in Shanghai and Beijing are still "performing well", despite China's slowing economic growth.

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