"Starting in 2018, Hainan began its journey to become a free trade port and a key gateway to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The island province’s unique location, taxation and system advantages will bring unprecedented development opportunities for Hainan. According to the 14th Five Year Plan, Hainan will target annual economic growth of over 10% per annum and an urbanisation rate of over 65% by 2025. Haikou and Sanya will be the key drivers of growth, accounting for 60% of the province’s population and 70% of its GDP."

"Tourism, one of Hainan's twelve key industries, is the third-largest tertiarysector industry after real estate and education, accounting for 7.3% of Hainan's GDP in 2020. The strategic positioning of Hainan as an international tourism and consumption centre means tourism retail and tourist consumption will remain a focus of policymaking and industry development. Hainan has accounted for a growing share of duty-free sales in China since 2011. The nearly absent international travel in 2020 and the subsequent impact on duty-free sales at airports in Beijing and Shanghai means Hainan’s share in duty-free sales could exceed 50%, up from 25% in 2019."

"The property management sector is believed to be approximately 35 billion sq m by the end of 2020, according to CRIC, up from 19.3 billion sq m just five years ago with revenues of RMB1.27 trillion. The biggest 100 property management companies account for roughly 33% of space under management (11.55 bn sq m), having consolidated their market share from 18.1% in 2015. This tremendous growth can be attributed to the country’s rapid urbanisation and continued investment in property development. Meanwhile, a constant stream of new stock, in addition to the consolidation of existing market share, represents significant market opportunities for managers in the near future."

"The historical drivers that catapulted China from the seventh-largest economy in the world in 1999 to the second, in current US dollar terms, in 2019 are close to spent and new drivers of emerging industries, sustainable environment and technology innovation must be found to augment growth in the decades to come.  "

"While China’s retail market was heavily impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19 in Q1/2020, the market has steadily recovered. According to eMarketer, retail sales are forecast to reach USD5.2 trillion for the full year 2020, making it the largest consumer market in the world."

"The global luxury market is pinning its hope on a swift recovery of the China retail market, a key driver of growth and one of, if not the, biggest market in the world. As life starts to get back to normal, albeit with some virus prevention measures remaining in place, shopping malls around the country reopened and resumed close to full operations starting in April. Over the five-day May holiday period, landlords and retailers implemented extensive promotional campaigns to stimulate sales. LVMH and L’Oréal have already reported positive year-on-year (YOY) sales growth in China."

"China has witnessed a lending boom ever since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008. Companies and the country have become reliant on access to ever-larger amounts of credit for sustained growth. "

"Savills Research has launched its Greater Bay Area Grade A Office Index, hereinafter referred to as the GBA Grade A Office Index. It aims to provide market players, such as investors, developers, landlords and office occupiers, with a reliable benchmark for the GBA office markets on a city-by-city basis."

"China’s outstanding aggregate financing number totalled RMB219 trillion by September 2019, up by 10% year-on-year (YoY) according to PBOC data, of which local currency loans made up 68.2% (RMB149 trillion). Chinese commercial banks typically classify loans into normal, special-mention, substandard, doubtful and loss, with the three latter ones considered nonperforming loans (NPLs)."

"Historically, the establishment of REITs has provided added impetus to an improvement in maintenance standards as well as proactive asset management that maximises usage and improves efficiency standards and sustainability ratings of buildings. Most recently, we have seen the establishment of REITs in many other markets, with mainland China now one of the last major property markets that does not have a REIT regime. This report discusses the potential asset classes, investors and pricing for the future REIT products in mainland China."