Investors are giving the China real estate market a second look as the country continues to work through the real estate doldrums brought on by last year’s Evergrande Crisis. As such, this opens up opportunities for exchange traded funds (ETFs) that get exposure to Chinese real estate.
It’s often said in the investment world to follow the “smart money.” That could mean tailing the bets of institutional money managers such as Brookfield Asset Management, which is looking at opportunities in distressed Chinese real estate.
Per a South China Morning Post article, “Brookfield Asset Management is on the lookout to acquire premium commercial property from distressed Chinese developers, aiming to increase its footprint in the world’s second-largest economy where fresh capital is needed to bail out the troubled real estate sector.” Based on the report, the Canadian firm is targeting properties in specific cities with the probability of generating returns in the long run.
“We are seeing opportunities and are pursuing lucrative deals,” said Yang Yiwen, senior vice-president of real estate portfolio management for Brookfield in China. “There will be drawn-out negotiations because of pricing gaps to close.”
As mentioned, the value stems from last year’s Evergrande Crisis, which saw a number of large real estate developers come close to defaulting on their loans. This prompted them to sell real estate such as commercial buildings at low prices in China’s prime locales, giving real estate investors plenty of opportunities to snatch up property at a bargain.
An ETF to Play the Real Estate Bounce
ETF investors looking to play a rebound in China’s real estate market can obtain exposure using the Global X MSCI China Real Estate ETF (CHIR ). CHIR seeks to provide investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI China Real Estate 10/50 Index.
The underlying index tracks the performance of companies in the MSCI China Index (the “parent index”) classified in the real estate sector, as defined by the index provider. Summarily, ETF investors get the following:
- Targeted exposure: CHIR is a targeted play on the real estate sector in China — the world’s second-largest economy by GDP.
- ETF efficiency: In a single trade, CHIR delivers access to dozens of real estate companies within the MSCI China Index, providing investors with an efficient vehicle to express a sector view on China.
- All share exposure: The index incorporates all eligible securities as per MSCI’s Global Investable Market Index Methodology, including China A, B, and H shares, red chips, P chips, and foreign listings, among others.
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