Funds from all over the world are trying to get into Asia Pacific and on top of their list is China. Citigroup's property unit plans to increase investment in China's real estate market 10 fold to 800 million US dollars in the next three years, Stephen Coyle, chief investment strategist at Citigroup Property Investors said.

Morgan Stanley plans to triple its investment in Chinese property to 3 billion US dollars this year, said Sonny Kalsi, global head of real estate business at Morgan Stanly. Overseas investors including the Chartered Bank, ING, Goldman Sachs are also seeking to gain from China's real estate market. According to State Administration of Foreign Exchange, overseas institutional investors bought property worth of $3.4 billion in China last year.

With foreign investors poised to pour billions of dollars into Chinese real estate, restricting investment from overseas could help slow growth in foreign exchange reserves and ease pressure on property prices. However, the real estate agency companies said they have not received the government document to restrict foreign funds.

By Mabelle Sese
http://realestatepress.org