Capmark Financial Group Inc, a US-based real estate financial
company, has teamed up with a Chinese developer for a property
project in Wuxi, its first foray into the country's property
market.
The US firm will invest more than US$30 million for a minority
stake in a residential project, which will be jointly developed
with Shanghai-based Chiway Holding.
The Wuxi project in East China's Jiangsu Province, scheduled to
be completed by 2010, covers 323,530 square meters and comprises
2,800 residential units, according to Chiway Holding, which
acquired the land last August.
Chiway will be responsible for the development of the Wuxi
Regent Town project, which is located in the city's New
District.
"We see urbanization, the emergence of growing middle class, and
availability of residential mortgage as important factors
contributing to the long-term growth of the residential market in
Wuxi," said a statement by Dawson Steven Lin, president and CEO of
Asia operations, Capmark Financial Group Inc.
"We continue to believe in the long-term prospects of the
Chinese economy and its real estate market."
Capmark, one of the largest mortgage service providers in the
United States, will mainly focus its investment in eight Chinese
cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, according to
Daniel Li, managing director, Capmark Finance Inc China.
Residential development will be Capmark's major focus, but it
will also explore opportunities in the commercial buildings
business in China, said Li.
Investment in China's property market amounted to 721.4 billion
yuan in the first five months of this year, up 27.5 percent
year-on-year, figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics
showed, 504.2 billion yuan of which was poured into residential
projects.
A growing number of both local and overseas property developers
are moving into China's second-tier and third-tier cities,
attracted by the relatively low land prices and the untapped market
there.
Kerry Properties, a Singapore-based developer, this month said
it has bought two plots in Chengdu for 1 billion yuan for a
residential project, its first move in the city.
Capmark, which has three core business areas - lending and
mortgage banking, investment, and fund management - opened its
Shanghai office in 2005. The office has a staff strength of 15.
(China Daily June 26, 2007)