Malaysian real estate is causing a stir with the Chinese ramping up their stakes.
The Chinese are known for their overseas shopping sprees. Buying property in every corner of the globe has become even more popular due to the weakening Yuan and restrictions placed on the outward flow of capital in China.
Recent data released reveals that the Chinese have been eyeing Malaysian real estate. In fact they have become the country’s biggest spenders overtaking Singapore. The country isn’t shy to foreign investors but residents of China have invested in excess of USD 2.1 billion in real estate in Malaysia between 2014 and 2016. Malaysian’s neighbours have spent small fry in comparison. The Singaporeans have spent USD 985 million for the same period. These figures are according to Real Capital Analytics, a company specialising in collecting data related to real estate transactions, who looked at transactions over the USD 10 million mark.
The Chinese pipping Singapore may not come as a big surprise. Whilst Singapore has always held the title as the biggest outbound real estate investor in Malaysia, recent factors have meant that the Chinese have looked to make their mark elsewhere. This includes the uncertainties behind Brexit and Trump coming to power, plus escalating prices in other cities such as Sydney and Christchurch. There is no wonder that Malaysia has been tipped as a new safe haven.
Malaysia’s attractive qualities.
This news also coincides with Beijing and Kuala Lumpur’s relationship being knitted closer together. Plus investors are also lured by the prospect of being close to Singapore for retail shopping. Malaysia can also offer an improved quality of life with less pollution if compared with mainland China. On top of this, Malaysia has a much lower price point. This widens the pool for investors who may find properties in other gateway cities out of reach.
Malaysia has been attempting to entice foreign investors for sometime. In 2002 they launched ‘Malaysia My Second Home’. A scheme that offered visas to live in the country assuming that applicants meet certain financial criteria. Out of 32,000 foreigners who now have residency in Malaysia, 8,000 are Chinese. The country with the highest number of residents suggests the sheer strength and interest the Chinese have in Malaysia.
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