When it comes to buying real estate, Hawai‘i is the tenth most popular state for Chinese investors. That’s according to real estate firm Juwai.com. And according to figures released this week, those investments are part of a noteworthy trend. HPR’s Bill Dorman explains in today’s Asia Minute.
China is approaching the point where it’s investing more money outside the country than its attracting from overseas. While that may not sound like a big deal, the government’s been trying to close that gap for nearly a decade. Growth in what economists call outbound direct investment can help reduce pressure on inflation within China’s domestic economy.
Foreign direct investment—or money coming into the country continues to be a higher figure, but the difference between the two numbers is shrinking. Government statistics show outbound Chinese investment rising to 45-billion dollars over the first five months of this year, growing three times as fast as a year ago.
Investment coming into the country totaled about 53-billion dollars. Investment flows don’t tell the entire story of an international economy—trade figures are much higher.
For example, China’s exports top 2-trillion dollars a year. But investment patterns can lay the groundwork for future trade flows. The top destinations for Chinese corporate spending outside the country start with Hong Kong. Second place goes to countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations—ASEAN. And the third most popular external destination for Chinese investment? It’s not North America—it’s the European Union.
