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Bahamas baits big spenders in Beijing

Baha Mar Ltd, which bills itself as the largest resort property in the Western Hemisphere, launched its first global roadshow in Beijing on Tuesday, aiming to attract China's billionaires. Hu Yuanyuan reports for China Daily. May 30, 2012 -- The $3.5 billion project, located in Nassau, capital of the Bahamas, is being wholly financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and built by China State Construction Engineering Co Ltd. Covering 400 hectares, the project includes four luxury hotels and other entertainment and sports facilities. It is expected to be completed in 2014. Richard English, senior vice-president of residential sales of Baha Mar, said a two-bedroom apartment costs about $2 million. Assuming a 30 percent deposit, "the investor is expected to gain an investment return of 8.87 percent annually", he said. "We targeted the very high-end consumers in China and find the potential huge." According to a report by Industrial Bank Co Ltd and the Hurun Report Research Institute, the number of Chinese billionaires and millionaires is reaching a new peak. There are 2.7 million high net worth individuals in China with personal assets of more than 6 million yuan ($950,000). And there are 635,000 ultra high net worth individuals UHNWI with assets of more than 100 million yuan, an increase of 10 percent compared with last year. Real estate and stocks remain the two most popular investment choices for the wealthy, the report said. Since the central government moved to cool the domestic property market, a growing number of individual buyers from China have been snapping up properties overseas. Vancouver, Toronto, London and Singapore will be the most popular locations for real estate investors from the Chinese mainland in 2012, according to real estate service provider Colliers International. To date, 20 to 40 percent of foreign investors in these four cities are from the mainland, the report showed. Malaysia Bao-Fun Pte Ltd, a real estate brokerage company, set up an exhibition hall in Beijing to better meet Chinese customers' growing demand for overseas property. The company also offers consultancy services on market trends, financing and the purchase and mortgage process. According to David Wei, international business director of Beijing JiaHua Four Seasons International Exhibition Co Ltd, 130 overseas real estate projects from more than 30 countries and regions were represented at the Beijing Spring Real Estate Expo in April. That compares with only 30 real estate projects from Beijing. The number of overseas projects was up 20 percent from the previous expo last autumn. Wei said immigration, investment and vacationing are the three major purposes for Chinese purchases of overseas property. "The proportion of the first two types has been climbing, with the immigration accounting for more than one-third," said Wei.