China primed to invest in U.S. sites

Middle Eastern, Russian and South Korean money has poured into New York's real estate market over the past decade. And Chaim Katzap, an entrepreneur, is betting the next big wave of investment will come from China.

To tap China's swelling wealth, Katzap started Lion's Property Development Group in September to market high-end U.S. real estate to the country's new ranks of rich. So far the company sells apartments in two high-rises to be built in Manhattan and a third in Brooklyn. Prices in the three buildings average between $850 and $1,288 per square foot, which puts them at the top-end of New York's real estate market.

Katzap shrugs at the cost: "It's pricier than Beijing, but less expensive than Moscow."

As an immigrant from the USSR to the United States in the 1970s, Katzap started selling New York real-estate to Russian buyers in the 1990's. Lion's Property Development Group is centered on the belief that high-end Chinese investors, many who own several properties in China already, will, like Russians, be looking to invest abroad. "In China, America is seen as a guiding light. America is called 'meiguo,' which means beautiful country. To own a piece of the beautiful country is the ultimate dream."

There are already plenty of potential customers in China who can afford the dream of owning luxury real estate in New York city. Forbes Magazine counts 66 billionaires in China, in U.S. dollar terms, pegging China second only to the United States, which has 415. To read more click here.

By Lina Tornquist, International Herald Tribune
Published: January 13, 2008