The Chinese scour Thailand to find a home, looking for ways to offset the risks after the pandemic

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BANGKOK – Daniel Bian, a resident of Shanghai, enjoys the sweeping views of the Thai capital as he lies on a deck chair next to the swimming pool on the 19th floor of a luxury apartment building.

“I feel alive. I feel free,” Bian said excitedly, dashing in tinted sunglasses, a navy blue flat cap and a tunic wrapped around her waist, her hair falling to her shoulders. is my dream.”

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Detained in China for three years under some of the world’s strictest restrictions on COVID-19, Bian is among a wave of mainland Chinese on the hunt for property in the Southeast Asian country. since Beijing opened its borders this year.

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Many Chinese are eager to invest in a residence abroad, to have a safety net in the event of a similar outbreak, and also to hedge economic risks at home.

Data from the website Trip.com shows that Thailand is the most popular destination for Chinese tourists during the May labor holiday, followed by Japan and South Korea.

And the Southeast Asian country’s good international schools and quality medical facilities are attracting more and more people who want a second home.

Thailand is expected to welcome at least 5 million Chinese tourists this year, some intending to buy properties, although this is still a far cry from the pre-COVID era, when they accounted for nearly one in a year. 3 out of 40 million arrivals.

“There is definitely demand from China for real estate in Thailand,” said Mesak Chunharakczyk, President of the Real Estate Association of Thailand.

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Topping the list of buyers are locations in major cities such as the capital Bangkok, along with Chiang Mai in the northern mountains, the eastern coastal resort of Pattaya and the northeastern region of Isan, he said. more.

“The Chinese are buying houses, sending their children to international schools and letting their parents go to Thailand to take care of them.”

Nearly 270,000 Chinese tourists visited Thailand in March, government data shows, the highest level in three years, although much lower than the 985,227 figure in March 2019, before the pandemic. translation occurs.

The proportion of Chinese students at the Singapore International School in Bangkok increased from 12% to 13% earlier this year, or 400 students from a total of 3,100 students at four campuses, far exceeding the 6% figure during the period. pre-pandemic period of 2019.

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The school’s chief executive, Kelvin Koh, told Reuters: “In China, when everything is closed – just for one night, nobody can go out. “This affects the behavior of Chinese families.”

Despite Thai regulations restricting foreign ownership to just 49 percent in any condominium project, potential buyers still flock in, providing a business opportunity for real estate agents. products aimed at Chinese buyers.

One such agent was Owen Zhu, who escorted Bian, 50, and his 70-year-old mother, fashionable in a tight white dress, matching hat and veil, to view three apartments upscale in Bangkok for a day. -long-term real estate tour.

“It changed a lot after the pandemic. Most Chinese people choose to buy luxury apartments to live in,” said Zhu.

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He added that many customers who previously bought for investment purposes are now no longer investing in real estate that usually costs more than 2 million yuan (US$290,000).

“The budget can only buy a simple house in China’s first-class cities, and its location may not be good,” Zhu said.

“But with that money they can buy a luxury apartment in the center of Bangkok. Therefore, some people will sell one of the houses in China and buy a property here for retirement.”

Bian, who organizes cultural exchanges between China and other countries, also sees less constraints in Thailand.

“The freedom to go in and out of the country, to move around. As well as the freedom of society, and life. Freedom is very important,” Bian said. ($1=6,9110 Chinese Yuan) (Additional reporting by Juarawee Kittisilpa and Chayut Setboonsarng in Bangkok and Chen Lin in Singapore; Writing by Anne Marie Rantree, Editing by Clarence Fernandez)