I have begun discussions with some partners in Zhuhai about investment in Chinese Real Estate. Zhuhai is a pretty nice place as can be seen from Wiki Travel, which is where I've stolen this lovely picture from.
My initial research indicates that a typical 2-bed apartment costs of the order of GBP 22K, and produces a gross yield of around 7%. The FX risk must surely be only on the upside.
Zhuhai is not as expensive as Shanghai or HK, but is more expensive (by a factor of 3) than less-developed parts of China. My own choice is largely dictated by the contacts I have in PRC.
I understand that it is legal now for foreigners to own real estate in China. There are obvious issues about title, law of contract, leases, taxes etc. etc. There are many issues to resolve, but my strong view is that PRC is a much better location for real estate investment than the USA or Europe (with the possible exception of Germany).
This entry was made originally on this date in my Livejournal blog. It is the beginning of a voyage which has lead me to purchase six apartments in China and transfer another million or so yuan, by now, which is towards the end of the year. You can find out more by looking at mingwei.co.uk. I sincerely believe in the China real-estate story, especially Zhuhai which has so many factors in its favour.
