The Chinese Connection: Getting Plugged in to Pacific Rim Real Estate, Trade, and Capital Markets

K.J. Charles was Professor of Economics, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay.

This book is an interesting study of the real estate investment behavior of the overseas Chinese, most of whom live in East Asia, sometimes referred to as the Pacific Rim. It provides a wealth of detail regarding overseas Chinese communities and their commercial and cultural practices. In spite of the much greater scale of foreign real estate investment in Canada by the British and Germans, Chinese acquisition of property in Canada attracts wide attention and produces exaggerated and undocumented claims about the extent of such ownership. Through his research and analysis the author lays to rest many of the myths surrounding overseas Chinese real estate investment behavior. He rightly identifies the extraordinary growth of South East Asian economies as the basic cause of these recent flows, and he shows that increased knowledge and understanding of this area could result in greater access to Pacific Rim trade and investment. When discussing overseas Chinese real estate investment and its related capital flows around the cities of the Pacific Rim, he throws a flood of light on such subjects as the reasons for the recent surge of these flows, their origin and destination, the persons who make these investments, and the economic and cultural forces governing the investment decision-making process of the overseas Chinese, the types of real estate sought, and the manner in which these investments are financed. There is an interesting discussion of the concept of “global” cities and the policy measures that would be necessary for North Americans to tap into the emerging world city network and the intricate and enlarging network of overseas Chinese connections. Both economists seeking understanding of the Chinese connection and North American businessmen seeking ventures within the Pacific Rim will find this an invaluable handbook.