Chinese Business Networks and the Globalization of Property Markets in the Pacific Rim

In analyzing the extension of Chinese firms across space, one of the key industries to lend insight to this process is unquestionably the real-estate industry. While much of the vast ‘overseas Chinese’ literature has focused on the articulation of production networks, sub-contracting connections, and flexible accumulation and credit practices, relatively little attention has been paid to the property development process. This is a serious omission, for two reasons. First, it has become increasingly apparent that Chinese firms are currently among the foremost players involved in the development and acquisition of both commercial and residential projects worldwide; this includes mammoth urban development schemes in cities as diverse as Singapore, Vancouver, Sydney and Shanghai (Mitchell, 1995; Olds, 1995, 1998), and smaller projects throughout East and Southeast Asia (Yoshihara, 1988; Smart, 1997). Second, recent globalizing trends that have been studied in the areas of production, finance, migration, information and culture have also had a great impact on the property development industry, yet have not received the same degree of scholarly attention (Beauregard and Haila, 1997; Haila, 1997; Olds, 1995). The contemporary globalization of property markets affects key cities around the world, and is changing both the form and process of the development and marketing of real estate. By extension, it is also changing the overall shape of the cities, and engendering urban social change (and social conflict) (see Mitchell, 1993a; Ley, 1995). Despite this, however, little research has been devoted to the factors facilitating and shaping the globalization of property markets.