Chinese office buildings draw international investors

International investors have a growing appetite for office buildings in China's key cities like Beijing and Shanghai due to bullish demand, a survey from international real estate service provider CBRE showed on Thursday.

About 35 percent of investors surveyed showed their interest in office buildings in the country's first tier cities this year, compared with 20 percent in 2015. A total of 25 percent showed their interest in the residential sector, 25 percent in the logistics sector and 12 percent in the retail sector.

"Though international investors have more competition from domestic ones, China remains one of the most popular investment destinations in the Asia-Pacific region, following Australia and Japan," said Gran Ji, executive director of capital markets for northern China at CBRE Group,

Meanwhile, with public awareness of environmental protection increasing and green building initiatives on a clear government agenda, the green building concept is increasingly gaining the spotlight in China's commercial building market.

In the 10 select cities CBRE observed, rental premiums of LEED-certified Grade A office space in most cities is in the range of 10-30 percent, compared to non LEED-certified samples. LEED-certified office projects enjoyed higher average rental performance and were in a better position in a weak downward market.