Business and Economy – Who and What
The Chinese are everywhere and doing things in a big way. They are the folks driving up businesses and economy, a welcome respite indeed. The Chinese, it seems, is the lifeline for the global economy in these uncertain times.
If you think markets are fretting about China 's economic health, think again. Chinese investors and Chinese holidaymakers are making their presence felt across the ocean and in faraway lands. Properties and big brands abroad are benefiting and in a big way.
Take a peep
China investor, Sun Tongyu, one of the founders of Alibaba shelled out top dollars, a cool S$51 million for a penthouse at Le Nouvel Ardmore, Singapore in April 2015.
Despite China’s economic tumult, Chinese buyers are still investing in overseas property.
The top four markets currently still popular with Chinese property investors are Australia, US, UK and China.
Australia
Chinese house-hunting hot spot Glen Waverley tops Melbourne’s real estate chart.
Large homes close to good schools are gaining favour with.Chinese buyers in Australia. Most suburban blocks In East Melbourne are 600sq m to 1000 sqm. These provide opportunities for subdivision. The Chinese are buying big houses or blocks of land for $2 million and developing $1 million houses.
Chinese demand are also fuelling Sydney into a property hotspot.
Buying by Chinese local residents and mainland China is inflating housing bubbles in and around Sydney, where prices in some suburbs have surged significantly. Many of the neighbourhoods with the biggest price gains are areas that are popular with Chinese buyers. Some of these suburbs are seeing price growth that have not been seen in Sydney since the early 2000s.
United States
The Chinese is chasing the American dream, it seems. The US continues to be a top choice for Chinese property investors. California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Washington reign as the five favourite US states with Chinese buyers
United Kingdom
The UK is heavily favoured by Chinese investors for its top-ranking universities.
China President Xi Jinping’s recent trip to the UK just about seal the deal in further boosting Chinese interest towards the UK, which has long been a perennial favourite for Chinese buyers.
Japan
The land of the rising sun, Japan stirs Chinese investor interest. The top four cities popular with Chinese buyers are Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe.
The allure stems from Japan’s reputation as a strong and safe economy, falling yen value against the yuan, and the promise of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics potential returns on investment in Tokyo.
Overseas Travel
According to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, the Chinese splurged $165 billion overseas in 2014. In 2015, 120 million Chinese travelled abroad, about 20% more than the year before. They are travelling further and spending freely with much of it going into retail purchases.
In France, Chinese tourists spend as much 40 percent of their holiday budget on shopping, Euromonitor revealed.
According to Bain consultancy’s October 2015 report, the Chinese account for 31% of luxury goods purchases globally, despite a slowing local economy,
Apparently, Chinese shoppers are also not averse to popular local brands.
In Singapore, Charles & Keith is a popular choice, as is cosmetics retailer Sa Sa in Hong Kong, Fast Retailing's Uniqlo in Japan and handbag-maker Coach in the U.S, according to analysed data from nearly 300,000 conversations on Chinese social platforms and travel websites in the last quarter of 2015 by Estates, a digital data firm based in Singapore.
Chinese tourists are also flocking to South Korea in droves because of the popularity of Korean pop culture, from soap operas to food.