| If you look closely at these snaps, you’ll see a little triumph of skill and hard work taking place. I spent a happy couple of hours with a beer in my hand, watching it all come together. It’s a tiny building site in Phnom Penh - barely three car lengths square - enclosed by some deadly-looking power cables only 8 feet (2.5 metres) off the ground. Ducking under those cables were : one vast crane, a drilling rig, a flat bed truck, a mechanical digger, and a big fuel bowser. |  |
 | A large crowd of idle folk, like me, gathered to marvel at how gingerly the team squeezed all these vehicles in and assembled them - without turning the neighbourhood dark or causing death and injury. Every scrap of land is being built on in this popular bit of the Cambodian capital - BKK1. There were 10 building sites near our hotel, all being worked on around the clock. A photo I really regret missing would have been from the day before... |
On the earthen floor some trestle tables were set out with white tablecloths, garlands, food and drink.
Beside the tables were vertical banners beckoning good fortune to the site, and the new 8 storey hotel to be built there.
The banners were written in Chinese characters.
And indeed such a lot of the rapid development of city centres and also coastal resorts in South East Asia - and elsewhere - is being driven by Chinese money.
The figure fifty thousand keeps cropping up.
A 50,000 casino and hotel complex is being built near Kep on the south coast of Cambodia. A 50,000 apartment complex is going up in the centre of Vientiane, the Laotian capital. 50,000 villas and hotel rooms are being built along the seashore in Danang, Vietnam.
And when that figure’s mentioned to me by residents, it’s often accompanied by a tone of awe, of alarm, of outrage, of envy - or a mixture of them all... Because of the Chinese connection.
When I suggest that investment is better than stagnation, I get a snort in return, most times.
A 50,000 casino and hotel complex is being built near Kep on the south coast of Cambodia. A 50,000 apartment complex is going up in the centre of Vientiane, the Laotian capital. 50,000 villas and hotel rooms are being built along the seashore in Danang, Vietnam.
And when that figure’s mentioned to me by residents, it’s often accompanied by a tone of awe, of alarm, of outrage, of envy - or a mixture of them all... Because of the Chinese connection.
When I suggest that investment is better than stagnation, I get a snort in return, most times.
Further south, estate agents / realtors in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth have been telling me (rather excitedly) of the doubling of property prices in the last 10 years - with estimates that 10 billion (US) dollars has been spent there annually by Chinese companies and other investors.
Existing buildings, new developments, and land too is up for grabs - even in places where foreign ownership of such assets is usually banned. It helps to have a local partner, especially if that partner is linked to the local government or communist party.
The Economist reported a while back how Laos has handed outsiders concessions on more than 30% of its land. Chinese money is welcome, clearly - to someone.
Will China’s splurge in buying land and building property diminish in any future slowdown? There’s been little sign of it so far. And although there might be a rather shocking pause, I think the fundamental truth will continue to hold true : that Chinese companies, billionaires and even the ordinary new middle class will still want to put the money they’ve earned in the last couple of decades somewhere to grow. Somewhere with better rates of return than they could get in European, US or Japanese banks. Somewhere more stable than the Chinese stock market.
Existing buildings, new developments, and land too is up for grabs - even in places where foreign ownership of such assets is usually banned. It helps to have a local partner, especially if that partner is linked to the local government or communist party.
The Economist reported a while back how Laos has handed outsiders concessions on more than 30% of its land. Chinese money is welcome, clearly - to someone.
Will China’s splurge in buying land and building property diminish in any future slowdown? There’s been little sign of it so far. And although there might be a rather shocking pause, I think the fundamental truth will continue to hold true : that Chinese companies, billionaires and even the ordinary new middle class will still want to put the money they’ve earned in the last couple of decades somewhere to grow. Somewhere with better rates of return than they could get in European, US or Japanese banks. Somewhere more stable than the Chinese stock market.
And the UK is another prime target for property investors.
China is a major reason why London is buzzing with development. I was talking about the attractions of the UK to Gaby Logan in her BBC Radio Five Live programme “All About Property” recently.
| It’s simply that Britain is open for business, and property is a nice little asset, so far… |  |
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