Foreign developers seek partners, clients in China

Wealthy Chinese are increasingly looking for overseas real estate investment opportunities-so foreign developers are coming to China in search of clients and business partners, especially in the luxury-residential sector.

Chinese real estate companies' overseas expansion affords individual investors a path to interests abroad, especially in developed countries with stable profit returns and a good natural environment.

"In past years, Chinese investors have not been very enthusiastic when I introduced real estate projects in Canada," Neil Labatte, president and CEO of Talon International Development Inc, said. In the past six months, though, he's taken many calls about buying into the Canadian housing market. It's a "good sign of growing passion" from rich Chinese looking to spend dollars there as their focus shifts away from home, he said.