JAPANESE REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Japanese real estate investment in Singapore is certainly not a development of recent vintage. Many Japanese firms have been present in the Singapore property market since the 1970s. However, encouraged by the strong yen, deregulation of overseas investment and higher returns in overseas property markets, their involvement here is now becoming a topic of great interest within the real estate industry. The purpose of this study is to expound the various issues surrounding the phenomenal Japanese investment in overseas real estate. Three property markets, namely, the United States, Australia and Singapore are being looked into, with greater emphasis being paid to Singapore. In the case of Singapore, the study examines the profile of the Japanese investors, market segmentation of their investment and their motivation for investing in the local property market. The findings suggest that Japanese real estate investment in Singapore is insignificant at present, as it only constitutes less than 1% of the entire building stock in the nation. However, this may grow in importance in the near future as Singapore continues to enjoy political and economic stability and the conditions are favourable for the Japanese to invest here.