Chinese investors look to South-East Asia for commercial property as political tensions, make US and Australia less appealing

South-East Asia’s commercial property markets are becoming more popular with mainland Chinese investors as political rifts and higher interest rates dampen the appeal of traditional favourites such as Australia and the US, according to a report by Juwai IQI.

Indonesia is now the main offshore destination of choice for Chinese investment in the sector, with Malaysia in third place and Thailand in fifth, according to the property technology company’s rankings based on enquiries from interested parties. In 2022, Indonesia and Malaysia were in fourth place and fifth place, respectively, while Thailand was not even in the top five.