"They have almost bought the UK!" exclaimed a British media outlet. Recently, Victor Li, the eldest son of Li Ka-shing, spent HK$7.753 billion to acquire the British gas supplier WWU, bringing nearly 30% of the UK's gas market under his control. "I know the current situation in Europe, but I believe these businesses will have good growth in five years." As early as August last year, Li Ka-shing stated at an earnings press conference that he was optimistic about opportunities in Europe. In his view, Europe has a stable political environment, a sound legal system, and high-quality assets, making it a good time for investment.
Amid the European debt crisis, many Chinese entrepreneurs are accelerating their pace of investment in Europe. Those with keen instincts began adjusting their investment directions and increasing their positions in Europe two months ago based on their judgment of a European recovery. In June, a corporate group including Liu Chuanzhi, Niu Gensheng, and Liu Yonghao traveled to Europe to explore acquisition opportunities. In May, an international enterprise group and a real estate investment group registered in Hong Kong acquired a highly promising project in Cyprus for 290 million euros. Such large-scale participation in the overseas investment and property market is precisely because of the considerable profits brought by European real estate.
Over the past two years, hit by the European debt crisis, the European economy has not been optimistic. However, recently, the Eurozone has finally recovered from an 18-month economic recession. According to data released by Eurostat on Wednesday (August 14), the Eurozone's GDP grew by 0.3% in the second quarter, exceeding the previously expected 0.2%. In Southern Europe, the pace of economic contraction is also slowing, and signs of growth have appeared in some places; Portugal grew by 1.1%, ranking first in GDP growth among the 17 Eurozone countries.
At the same time, in order to attract foreign investment, Europe has taken the initiative to lower the threshold for foreign investment access. Taking Greece, which just promulgated its immigration bill in April this year, as an example, by purchasing property worth 250,000 euros, one can obtain a permanent, renewable residence status in Greece within 2 months, allowing free travel through 26 Schengen countries, which is equivalent to a European Green Card. Greece, Portugal, and Cyprus are also becoming immigration destinations of high concern for Chinese immigration applicants and have been rated by the industry as the three major highlights of European investment immigration, with European consultation volumes at immigration agencies even surpassing those for the US and Canada.
Investing in Europe is now a good opportunity. The European debt crisis has led to the severe undervaluation of European assets, and the euro against the renminbi is also at a historical low, which has invisibly provided strong financial support for bottom-fishing in Europe. Under the current European situation, the prices of fixed assets, especially real estate, are at a relatively historical low, and its investment opportunities can be described as once in a century.
The Greek Ambassador to China also expressed this view at the launch ceremony of the Greek Investment Immigration project in China, which was co-hosted with Worldway: "Currently, Greek housing prices are at their lowest point, and the initiative for bargaining is in the hands of the buyer. I hope Chinese investors will seize this rare opportunity to visit Greece for inspection and property purchase. In the future, as the Greek economy improves, investors will gain dual benefits from tourism and real estate development."
Facing the trend of European investment immigration and the popularity of the concept of global asset allocation, there are two conversions when investing in European real estate: one is converting renminbi to euros, and the other is converting euros to real estate. Currently, the euro exchange rate is at a historical low. In recent decades, real estate investment in immigration countries such as Greece has become an important source of profit for international investors. Facing the historical lows of the euro exchange rate and European real estate, from an investment perspective, it is the best time to enter the market. In the future, as long as the European economy recovers, both the exchange rate and housing prices will rise, resulting in two-way appreciation.
