With rising geopolitical tensions, global growth slowed by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, a virtual roundtable with institutional investors and investment managers was held on 6 July by Institutional Real Estate, Inc on the outlook for real estate investing in China and Hong Kong. The in-depth discussion was moderated by Reno Sio, managing director, Asia Pacific, at IREI.

Key takeaways include the following:

The zero-COVID policy has put a strain on businesses and GPD growth. Particularly in the short term, it is hard to underwrite risks. Long term, the growth story still can’t be denied, and domestic consumption will help lead the way. Singapore has not capitalised on opportunities during COVID to try to overtake Hong Kong as a financial hub, and China and Hong Kong plan to launch “Swap Connect” to boost financial integration. Bank liquidity is still there for sectors such as logistics, but has dried up for some other sectors.