Foreign investment in Beijing property may hit record high

Foreign investors have been increasingly active in Beijing's property market this year, with their transactions projected to reach a record high in 2019, industry experts said.

"We see an increasing proportion of foreign investors' participating in Beijing's property market this year, and we are expecting another round of brisk investment this year," said Gordon Liu, deputy managing director, Capital Markets of Cushman&Wakefield China.

"This is mainly due to the appreciation of the dollar since last year and tightening financing channels for domestic players."

According to Cushman & Wakefiled, foreign investors have reached 10 block deals valued more than 25 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) in Beijing's property market from the beginning of 2018 till the first quarter of 2019.

Statistics from JLL indicate that foreign investors continue to show interest in the market this year.

Dinghao Electronics Plaza in Zhongguancun was purchased by a joint venture between Partners Group, The Family Office, SDP Investments, and The Carlyle Group for around 9 billion yuan.

"Given the strong presence of leading and fast-growing IT firms in the area, Zhongguancun remains a bright spot for investment opportunities in Beijing," said Michael Wang, head of capital markets for JLL in Beijing.

"Due to the lack of commercial leasing space in the IT-driven submarket, rapidly expanding companies are increasingly choosing to purchase entire buildings to meet large office requirements."

Wang Jiaqi contributed to this story