Research from CBRE shows that investment by Asian investors in commercial real estate around the world this year is set to hit a new record. Asian investment in global commercial real estate reached nearly $27 billion (€24 billion) in H1 2016, CBRE says. Chinese investors accounted for 60 percent of that total.

In 2009, some 80 percent of Asian investors’ capital outlay was in domestic markets. With investment out of Asia since 2009 climbing from $4.3 billion (€3.9 billion) to $47 billion (€42 billion) last year, that proportion has fallen to around 47 percent. The principal destination for Asian investors in H1 2016 was the Americas, accounting for $14 billion (€13 billion) or 52 percent of outbound investment, followed by EMEA with $6.1 billion (€5.5 billion) or 22 percent.

“The Asian insurance industry has enjoyed tremendous growth over the past 10 years and insurers still have relatively low allocations to real estate,” says Chris Brett, head of int