tailieunhanh - The Risks of Investing in the Real Estate Markets of the Asian Region

During the twelve month period that ended June 30, 2010, the most frequent types of inquiries received on the Regulatory Helpline remained the same as those highlighted in the October 2009 SAR Activity Review. 24 During this period, inquiries related to “assistance with SAR form” accounted for 33 percent of all SAR inquiries, compared with 38 percent of all SAR inquiries during the previous 12 month period. The following guidance provides helpful answers for many SAR form assistance questions: SAR Narrative Guidance Package Inquiries related to “guidance on whether to file a SAR” accounted for 21 percent. | The Risks of Investing in the Real Estate Markets of the Asian Region by Stephen L. Lee Department of Land Management The University of Reading Whiteknights Reading RG6 6AW England Phone 44 0 118 931 6338 Fax 44 0 118 931 8172 E-mail Abstract The Asian region has become a focus of attention for investors in recent years. Due to the strong economic performance of the region the higher expected returns in the area compared with Europe and the USA and the additional diversification benefits investment in the region would offer. Nonetheless many investors have doubts about the prudence of investing in such areas. In particular it may be felt that the expected returns offered in the countries of the Asian region are not sufficient to compensate investors for the increased risks of investing in such markets. These risks can be categorised into under four headings investment risk currency risk political risk and institutional risk. This paper analyses each of these risks in turn to see if they are sufficiently large to deter real estate investment in the region in general or in a particular country. Key words Asian real estate markets investment currency political and institutional risks. Introduction Capital markets are becoming global markets and commercial real estate markets are no exception. Recently international real estate investors have expressed interest in investing in the Asian emerging markets. Three main reasons can be given for investing in such markets. First the strong economic performance in the region at least up to 1997 and the huge growth potential of the region in the future. For example over the period 1966-1991 the average annual real economic growth rate for Hong Kong Japan Singapore and Malaysia was greater than 6 while the comparable figures for the US and UK were between 2 and 3 Greenwood 1993 . The second reason for investing in such countries is the very high returns such economic generates. Indeed in a survey of .