China's Tier 2, 3 Cities Now Gaining Attention

BEIJING-It is China’s year. Investors, much like the Olympic athletes, are jockeying for position on a rapidly changing playing field.

For several years, Tier 1 cities like Beijing and Shanghai have captured most of the investment attention from the international institutional circuit. Now, opportunistic capital is reaching north and inward. “What has been a coastal city phenomenon is now becoming a national growth story,” Chris Brooke, president and CEO of Greater China for CB Richard Ellis said during a recent Global In-Sights webcast.

China’s growth-intensive drive, though, is slowing as it is worldwide. Real GDP dropped to 10.1% from 12.2% in the year-to-year, second-quarter comparison for 2007 and ’08. “Slowing in Asia means the growth rate is dropping from double-digit 10s to 7%, 8% and 9%,” said Raymond Torto, CBRE’s global chief economist. Regardless of the slowdown, Asia will still account for 50% of the world’s GDP this year.