Amathusa Coastal Heights 37, 3 bedrooms, 200 meters from the sea ...
Chinese ban no impact on property sales
The restrictions introduced by the Chinese government to
reduce outbound investment in real estate have yet to impact property sales
according to the Cyprus Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Keve). In August, China introduced new rules on
overseas mergers and acquisitions, defining three investment categories:
banned, restricted, and encouraged. Real estate was among the restricted
industries and this raised fears in Cyprus that it would affect the nascent
growth of the construction sector, which had taken a substantial hit in the
run-up to the island’s bailout and after 2013. Keve secretary general Marios
Tsiakkis said no reduction in the sales has been seen following the Chinese
decision, which affects all countries. He said there was still a lot of
interest from Chinese organisations to invest in Cyprus and a number of
possible projects were being discussed. Those mainly concerned tourism and the
creation of investment funds that would use Cyprus as a base. Director of the
island’s investment promotion agency, Natasa Pilides, told the Cyprus News
Agency there was no data showing a fall in sales but “it is something that
needs to be explored so that there won’t be an impact in the future.” Pilides
said the investment from China mostly entailed small sums of some €2m for
citizenships and it was not something that would make a huge impact. Property
developers told the Greek language newspaper Phileleftheros that property sales
to the Chinese sales are falling. This decline raises serious concerns as it
may result in the inability to sell properties being built for this for this
category of buyers. The newspaper also reported that several Chinese heard
about the impending restrictions and rushed to purchase before the restrictions
came into force.