The Chinese investors firm, Oceanwide Holdings Group Co, is aggressively purchasing residential and commercial properties along the California coast, spending millions over the past two years. Oceanwide is currently developing a three-tower apartment complex, which includes retail space and a hotel. There are also plans to build the second tallest tower in San Francisco, a Norman Foster-designed 910-foot office building, and a recently purchased Sonoma County ranch with a winery, for $41 million.
Since 2012, Oceanwide has amassed a relatively large amount of private residential properties in Silicon Valley, with holdings in banks, brokerage, trusts and insurance, as well as investments in energy, advertising and print media in China. With a somber Chinese housing economy, the U.S. housing market, with its strong growth has become a much more attractive investment for foreign buyers from China, Canada and Norway.
Source: “Chinese Real Estate Firm Looks West to California,” wjs.com (Jan 27, 2015).