(Adhum Carter is a British business investor, strategist and financial expert with a strong real-estate background.)
Asian Market 2018 overview
The investment transaction volume in the Asian real estate market will continue to remain on top in the coming years owing to strong economic growth and lowered interest rates, according to British investor Adhum Carter. Economic conditions have solidified all over the world as 2017 witnessed the highest global GDP growth rate since 2010. In spite of a temporary drop in Asian markets in 2018, the market is expected to spring back into rapid growth in the year 2019. According to JLL, Investment activity across the Asia Pacific region continued to deliver improving transaction volumes, with 2Q reaching USD 42 billion, up 28% y-o-y. In 1H18, total transaction volumes in Asia Pacific recorded a new record high of USD 81 billion, up 30% on 1H17. Regions of Hong Kong and South Korea dominated the quarter whereas China and Singapore slumped. Markets like India and Taiwan performed decently and made a respectable contribution to the Asian investments. Cross-border investment activity accounted for one-quarter of total transactions and Hong Kong and South Korea were the major draws. The office sector is showing extreme promise as it accounted for half of the total transaction volume. China, Japan, and India are becoming the hubs for commercial office spaces, as huge partnership deals are being signed between them and international conglomerates.
Japan driving growth in commercial real estate
So, how do investors view the Asian real estate market? The investor outlook and sentiment in Asian real estate this year are extremely positive and forward-looking with increasing capital values and rising rental growth which is building strong momentum especially in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Japan. In commercial real estate, Japan is growing at 9 percent and will most likely, spring up to 20 percent by 2019 and will be a key investment area in the next year. Despite its protectionism policy, its at the peak of the investment cycle, with large investment and export momentum and the stringency of its labour market will enable a decent rise in consumption.
India making inroads with global partnerships
India is undergoing rapid growth and intensive infrastructure investment supported by an increase in consumption. The implementation of policies like RERA and GST helped bolster the tier 1 cities to rise up in the JLLs 2018 Transparency Index from the 36th rank. By 2020, Indias real estate market is set to hit 180 billion dollars from 120 billion dollars in 2015, according to JLL and CREDAI. Also, the contribution of the residential segment to the GDP would almost double to 11 percent by 2020. Due to its 100 percent FDI eligibility in real-estate, India will become a key player in the South Asian market in the next five years with 90 percent of Asian business leaders expecting its cross-border transaction to rise exponentially in the coming years. Evidence to support these claims can be seen in several high-profile partnerships. In 2017, Singapores GIC purchased a 33 percent stake in a unit of DLF Cyber City for US$ 1.4 billion, and Allianzs real- estate arm announced its partnership with Indias Shapoorji Pallonji Group to establish a fund of US$500 million to target Indias office market, according to a JLL report. Such landmark deals are boosting demand in Indias tier 1 commercial office real estate, and are also indicating that global giants are eyeing to enter India and make investments strides through partnerships, in the upcoming future.
The Asian real estate is seeing a gradual but upward momentum led by the investment efforts of India, Japan and Manila and the investor sentiment and growth remain positive and stable going forward.
About Adhum Carter
Adhum Carter is a British business investor, strategist and financial expert with a strong real-estate background. Hes the son of a prominent Gujarati real-estate investor who was behind some monumental real-estate deals in Asia back in his day. Born in 1995 in Brighton, United Kingdom, he pursued his secondary education from Lewes and has travelled extensively across multiple geographies? lived in London and Dubai, conducted businesses in Switzerland, Hong Kong, Shanghai and other financial hubs all over the world. Adhum has a keen eye for real-estate financing and a natural flair for technology, specializing in international trade, investments, mezzanine finance, capital raises, and development. Hes dabbled with mixed asset classes professionally and his personal investments vary from the food industry to car trading companies. Hes the partner at Eyas, a Swiss-based financial company. Eyas provides clients with a range of recognized corporate services across sectors including management consulting, travel & hospitality, banking, real estate and recruiting, among others.