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Investors from China pumped in more than US$16.5 billion (S$22.94 billion) in commercial properties across the United States in the year to 31 March 2017, making it the top spender on this segment and displacing the Canadians, reported property website Mingtiandi.
According to data from Real Capital Analytics (RCA), total global investment on US commercial properties slumped by 39 percent to $60.9 billion in the said period compared to its 2007 peak.
Nevertheless, China’s investments in the world’s largest economy increased by 10 percent on an annual basis, making up 22.8 percent of the overall foreign investment in US commercial real estate.
The largest transaction for the period was Anbang Insurance Group’s US$5.5 billion purchase of 15 properties from Blackstone Group’s Strategic Hotels & Resorts portfolio in March 2016.
Government-owned insurance giant China Life was the second biggest Chinese investor during the period. In May 2016, it teamed up with RXR Realty to acquire an undisclosed stake in a Manhattan office tower at 1285 Sixth Avenue for US$1.65 billion. And last October, it purchased a stake in Starwood Capital Group’s portfolio of 280 mid-range hotels for US$2 billion.
Transportation conglomerate HNA Group also purchased a 50-storey office tower at 181 W Madison Street in Chicago from CBRE Global Investors for US$359 million in March 2017.
Media reports also revealed that the company plans to acquire the 245 Park Avenue office tower in Manhattan from its joint venture partners New York State Teachers’ Retirement System and Brookfield Property Partners LP for US$2.21 billion.
RCA’s Senior Director for Asia Pacific Analytics Petra Blazkova said the data shows that Beijing’s restrictions on capital outflows had a smaller impact on outbound property investment as compared to other segments.
For instance, outbound property investments from China declined by 19 percent year-on-year to US$5.8 billion in Q1 2017, while outbound mergers and acquisitions (M&A) slumped by 67 percent on the first four months of the year.
This article was edited by Denise Djong.
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