Real estate investment is going through a good time that passes on citizens beyond Europe. This is the case of Chinese investment and its commitment with Spanish properties.
The real estate sector goes through one of its best moments for investors, including domestic and foreign residents.
Recently we met the great interest of foreign residents to invest in our real estate sector.
Statistics for the first half of 2016, prepared by the Ministry of Development, leaves no doubt. Foreign citizens invested 5,243,000 millions in real estate transactions between January and June 2016, 15% more than last year.
British (21.34%), French (8.72%), Germans (7.33%), Belgians (6.26%), Swedish (5.89%) and Italians (4.68%) to the head. However, today we will pay special attention to Chinese citizens. This group represents only 3.97% of real estate transactions.
Yet, it is one of the biggest European and multisectoral scale collective investment. The report ‘Trends of Chinese investment in Europe: 2016-17’, released at the 5th ESADE China Europe Club forum, demonstrated the importance of this Asian giant.
Main EU investors
The edition of the ESADE report has allowed to monitor Chinese investment in Europe since 2010, sector by sector and country by country.
In fact, the entry of Chinese capital almost tenfold in the last six years, from 3,270 million dollars in 2010 to about 33,000 million which are expected for closing.
In 2015, Italy and Ireland have taken special importance among countries with attracting investment from China. They have thus joined the Top 5 completed by UK, France and Germany.
Globally speaking, Spain also forms part of the more attractive for the Chinese investor. Taking these past six years, the investment attraction has increased by 38.3% in our country.
While, according to business areas, most of the investments have gone into manufacturing (39.4% in 2015), logistics and transportation (25.9%) and financial (10.2 %) and real estate(10.2%) sectors.
Chinese investment in Spain (2010-16)
Chinese investor has taken advantage, as few, of falling real estate prices suffered since 2008. This has enabled to position itself in diverse sectors such as residential, hotel or logistics.
In the top ten ranking of Chinese investment operations in Spain, two have been carried out by the real estate sector. The acquisition of Edificio España (Madrid) worth 369 million dollars and an investment of Melco Property for $ 65 million.
The rest includes industrial, energy, tourism and even investments in ‘retail’ sector. Strategic investments that have increased by 120% last year, from 845 million euros in 2015 to 1.880 million in 2016.
A number that will rise through the years. China is now the world’s third largest investor, only surpassed by the United States and Japan.
At this current rate, tripling the average worldwide investment. And in 2023 is expected to become the largest global investor.
