Brookfield sees opportunities in China’s real estate market to snap up bargains from distressed developers
- The Toronto-based alternative assets manager is targeting prime real estate in top cities after acquiring three buildings in Shanghai in September
- Talks for lucrative assets are in progress but the deals depend on pricing, says Brookfield vice-president Yang Yiwen
Yang Yiwen, senior vice-president of real estate portfolio management for Brookfield in China, said the Toronto-based firm would target prime properties in first-tier cities as they have potential to generate good long-term returns.
“We are seeing opportunities and are pursuing lucrative deals,” she said. “There will be drawn-out negotiations because of pricing gaps to close.”
Some cash-strapped Chinese developers, under pressure to repay debts and cut leverage ratio, are putting up for sale office buildings and shopping malls – which are viewed as rare assets in the country’s most developed cities like Shanghai.
Brookfield, which traces its roots to a tram operator in Brazil at the turn of the 20th century, is among a clutch of foreign investors chasing property assets on the cheap in China.
