BIZCHINA / Top Biz News

Institutional buyers to double China bet
(International Herald Tribune)
Updated: 2006-07-13 14:25

Overseas institutional investors like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group are expected to nearly double their spending on real estate in China this year to US$7 billion, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
 
"Overseas institutions are keen on long-term returns, so it's a good time to enter the market now, with some negative information damping prices and buying interest," Michael Hart, director of China research for Jones Lang LaSalle, said Wednesday.
 
First-half sales to overseas institutions amounted to 70 percent of last year's total of US$3.56 billion, according to Jones Lang LaSalle. The company's forecast of as much as US$7 billion of investment in 2006 was partly based on sales already signed but yet to be announced, Hart said.
 
Morgan Stanley bought two residential projects in Shanghai for a combined US$187.5 million in April and June, according to Colliers International, the real estate consultantcy. Goldman Sachs spent US$70 million on an apartment project in Shanghai in April, Colliers said.
 
Jones Lang LaSalle, based in Chicago, is the largest U.S. commercial real estate broker.

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