Asian Global Outbound Property Investment on Record Breaking Pace

According to new research from CBRE Group, Asian investment in global commercial real estate is on track to set a new record in 2016, with the Americas the leading target region. Asian investment in global commercial real estate reached nearly $27 billion in H1 2016, dominated by Chinese investors who accounted for 60% of the total. Asian outbound investment has multiplied more than ten-fold to $47 billion in 2015 from $4.3 billion in 2009. "The Asian insurance industry has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past ten years. Insurers still have relatively low allocations to real estate. These investors will continue to increase their allocations to global real estate to both diversify portfolios and boost returns amid low or negative interest rates on government bonds and volatile equity markets. Japanese institutional investors could emerge as a new source of capital in the coming years, as most still have low or even no real estate holdings. Property companies, particularly Chinese and Singaporean groups, will continue to explore opportunities abroad to offset the downside risk in their home markets," said Chris Ludeman, Global President, Capital Markets, CBRE.