Capmark Financial Group Inc, a US-based real estate financial company, has teamed up with a Chinese developer for a property project in Wuxi, its first foray into the country's property market.

 

The US firm will invest more than US$30 million for a minority stake in a residential project, which will be jointly developed with Shanghai-based Chiway Holding.

 

The Wuxi project in East China's Jiangsu Province, scheduled to be completed by 2010, covers 323,530 square meters and comprises 2,800 residential units, according to Chiway Holding, which acquired the land last August.

 

Chiway will be responsible for the development of the Wuxi Regent Town project, which is located in the city's New District.

 

"We see urbanization, the emergence of growing middle class, and availability of residential mortgage as important factors contributing to the long-term growth of the residential market in Wuxi," said a statement by Dawson Steven Lin, president and CEO of Asia operations, Capmark Financial Group Inc.

 

"We continue to believe in the long-term prospects of the Chinese economy and its real estate market."

 

Capmark, one of the largest mortgage service providers in the United States, will mainly focus its investment in eight Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, according to Daniel Li, managing director, Capmark Finance Inc China.

 

Residential development will be Capmark's major focus, but it will also explore opportunities in the commercial buildings business in China, said Li.

 

Investment in China's property market amounted to 721.4 billion yuan in the first five months of this year, up 27.5 percent year-on-year, figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed, 504.2 billion yuan of which was poured into residential projects.

 

A growing number of both local and overseas property developers are moving into China's second-tier and third-tier cities, attracted by the relatively low land prices and the untapped market there.

 

Kerry Properties, a Singapore-based developer, this month said it has bought two plots in Chengdu for 1 billion yuan for a residential project, its first move in the city.

 

Capmark, which has three core business areas - lending and mortgage banking, investment, and fund management - opened its Shanghai office in 2005. The office has a staff strength of 15.

 

(China Daily June 26, 2007)