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Mipim DISPATCH: SE Asia Is Mixed Bag for Foreign Investors

CANNES-Don't let all the hype about the real estate boom in Asia oversell itself. There are plenty of pitfalls on the road to investment success, experts reveal in seminar sessions and exclusive interviews.

By John Salustri | Updated on March 10, 2005

CANNES-Investors eyeing foreign markets might be lured to the promise of Asia and Southeast Asia, but as various presentations at Mipim here revealed, there are many pitfalls to the unwary shopper. In both scheduled seminar sessions and exclusive interviews, experts are painting a more textured picture of the continent.

No doubt, the real estate market in China is growing, as Guy Hollis of Jones Lang LaSalle revealed in Investment in China: the Issues and Opportunities. In fact, he reported real estate investment generally grew from $38 billion in 1995 to $150 billion in 2004.

But, as Henry Cheng of Chongbang Development stated, pitfalls arise as you zero in on specific regions, such as Shanghai, which he characterized as a “young and immature market, and fatal mistakes” are easy to come by. Outside investors who fail to focus on a specific region and a specific property type and who believe they can escape with less than a five-year commitment are headed for a fall, he promised.

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