When Tishman Speyer, the US property company, raised its first China fund in 2007, the money came from overseas investors eager to get a piece of one of the world’s hottest real estate markets. Six years on, China’s property is still sizzling but foreign investors are much more nervous about its outlook.
For Tishman Speyer, which remains upbeat about Chinese property, this shift has led to a change of strategy. Instead of tapping overseas markets, it is raising the cash it needs for Chinese projects within China itself, where investors remain much more positive.
Cementing this change, Tishman Speyer has just closed a new Rmb3bn ($490m) fund for a real estate project in Shanghai, China’s financial centre. It is the second renminbi fund raised by the property company since the start of last year and the biggest ever by a foreign developer. Others are trying to raise similar funds, according to investors.