Advertisement
International Property
Business

Chinese firms are scoping out overseas property – but what is catching their eye?

With residential development on the wane, Chinese firms are investing in smart city, logistics and new energy projects, Knight Frank says

3-MIN READ3-MIN
2
Listen
Smart city investments in the Middle East are one of the key targets of expanding Chinese companies. Photo: Getty Images
Zhu Wenqianin Beijing

Chinese companies are driving a fresh wave of investment in overseas properties, with new energy industrial facilities, cross-border e-commerce logistics centres, and smart city projects becoming investment hotspots, Knight Frank has said.

Traditional residential development was on the wane, while industrial property, logistics real estate and commercial complexes were emerging as core investment priorities, according to a January report by the London-based property consultancy.
It forecast that annual overseas investment by Chinese enterprises in these sectors would grow 15 per cent year on year in 2026.

“Chinese enterprises’ overseas expansion is reshaping the landscape of the real estate sector across investment segments, target regions and business models,” said Virginia Huang, managing director of north and east China at Knight Frank.

Key targets include smart city real estate in the Middle East, such as futuristic projects in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

Some hot investment destinations include commercial and industrial supporting real estate in African hubs like Nairobi, Kenya, and Lagos, Nigeria, as well as logistics and warehousing properties in Latin American cities like Monterrey, Mexico, and Bogota, Colombia, according to Knight Frank.

For instance, Shanghai-listed China State Construction Engineering Corp, a state-owned company, is building a mountain tunnel for The Line, a futuristic linear city in Saudi Arabia 170km (106 miles) in length and 200 metres (656 feet) in width. The project is valued at 7.86 billion yuan (US$1.13 billion).

Advertisement
Select Voice
Select Speed
1.00x