South Korean buyers spend €16b in foreign real estate

South Korean investors have spent €16 billion ($17 billion) on real estate overseas during 2019, making the country Asia Pacific’s biggest cross-border property investor last year, according to Real Capital Analytics.

A majority of the investments were in Europe, totaling more than €12 billion ($12.95 billion), specifically in the office sector, totaling €8.7 billion ($9.4 billion). South Korean investors were the second biggest non-European source of capital after the United States. The majority of capital has been deployed via joint ventures with other South Korean investors or a local partner.

Seoul-based Hana Financial (No. 9) was featured in the list of top 10 property investors in Europe. Blackstone was in the No. 1 position, followed by Union Investment, Commerz Real, AXA Group and Swiss Life Asset Management, respectively.

Hana Financial Investment Co. purcha