Hong Kong among Asia's top outbound capital sources in 1H15 with US$2.2 billion

China is still the leading source.

The overall Asian outbound investment in global real estate in H1 2015 reached US$19 billion.

According to a research note from CBRE, further, China maintains its lead as the largest source of Asian capital, investing US$6.6 billion in global real estate in H1 2015, followed by Singapore with US$4.4 billion and Hong Kong with US$2.2 billion.

Further, in terms of country destination, the United States replaced the United Kingdom as the top country for Asian investors with US$6.1 billion of investments in H1 2015, as opposed to US$4.4 billion for the U.K.

London continues to be the top city for Asian investors with an inflow of US$3.8 billion, followed by New York (US$3.7 billion) and Sydney (US$2.2 billion).

International flows outside Asia rose 13% y-o-y in H1 2015 while intra-regional flows within Asia fell 40%, reflecting more challenging conditions presented by limited product availability and reduced liquidity.

Outbound investment in standing assets by Asian investors continues its steady momentum, with q-o-q growth in Q2 2015 at 8.9%, amounting to US$10 billion in capital flows.

There was a notable increase in hotel investments, which accounted for US$5.8 billion or 30% of total Asian investment globally in H1 2015. This was largely supported by a number of major acquisitions by Chinese insurance firms, including the US$1.95 billion purchase of the Waldorf Hotel in New York by Anbang Insurance Group.

Here's more from CBRE:

Ada Choi, Senior Director, CBRE Research Asia Pacific: “While cross-border investments within Asia came down 40% during this period, we are seeing continued and robust outbound growth, with international capital allocation increasing by 30%.

There has been notable investment sentiment from groups who continue to see the benefits of overseas diversification, particularly in the case of Taiwanese capital.

Total volume invested in H1 2015 amounted to US$1.8 billion, which has already surpassed the year-end total of US$1.3 billion in 2014. As Taiwanese insurers are unable to meet required investment returns due to low yields in the domestic market, we foresee their continued hunt for offshore opportunities in the near future.

There has likewise been a surge of Asian capital inflows into the Pacific, with a growth of 63% compared to the same period last year.

Sydney and Melbourne ranked third and sixth, respectively, in terms of most preferred destinations globally. Many overseas investors consider commercial real estate in these and similar global hotspots as attractive investments with limited downside risk, due in part to the relative affordability of stable income assets compared to available domestic stock.

As more Asian investors are looking abroad to diversify a growing pool of domestic wealth, overseas market dynamics such as stable fundamentals, regulatory support and market transparency will continue to drive them to pursue offshore opportunities.”

Marc Giuffrida, Executive Director, Global Capital Markets: “This year we have really seen Asian outbound investment broaden with the U.S. overtaking the U.K. as the preferred destination–U.S. inflows this year are already at 90% of last year’s total.

While the headlines readily report the trophy sales in New York, about 40% of the capital has flowed into Boston, Washington, Seattle and Los Angeles—all markets with very positive fundamentals and availability of opportunities.

London still maintained its position as the world’s leading city. It received around 85% of U.K. inflows so far this year, and we are now seeing investors taking advantage of positive sentiment in the leasing and capital markets by looking at value enhancement strategies and development.

Elsewhere in EMEA, core investors have been active right across Germany, particularly within the office and logistics sectors.”