Industrial accounts for 20% of construction land in China, second only to residential, meanwhile, China has more than 20,000 industrial parks. Local governments and investors are looking to reinvigorate these assets, promote local development, improve park operations and upgrade manufacturing.

Supply chain disruption, strategic competition and industrial policies have increased the need for greater resilience and redundancy planning to be built into the industrial sector, boosting the growth of industrial transactions in recent years. Global industrial investment volumes have grown at a CAGR of 22.5% from 2016-2021 and now represent the third largest investment class. China likewise has seen growing interest from investors, transforming the previously niche asset class into an investor mainstay.

For the purpose of this report, industrial is defined as projects in which manufacturing takes place, excluding pure R&D facilities on industrial land. In the past, this used to refer to single-storey factories and workshops but as the sector has matured, industrial parks have evolved into more comprehensive parks equipped with a range of different amenities and functions. Manufacturing and broader industry now encompass a much large chunk of the value chain from design and R&D to sales and after-sales services, as well as capturing a larger share of the advanced manufacturing sector. The more demands placed upon the industrial sector increase the challenges but also create opportunities for investors.

The industrial sector can be more challenging to navigate than the commercial sector because of the various regional regulatory frameworks, land use types, and environmental impact assessments and the range and specificity of different tenant industry sectors.

This report will look into the market conditions, trends and opportunities in China's industrial market in terms of land use, industry upgrading and R&D push, key markets, and investment focus.