The ING Real Estate China Opportunity Fund has attracted individual and institutional investors from Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East and the US, the Dutch investment firm said.

The private fund invests in mid-range housing projects in Shanghai, northern Tianjin and Changsha in Hunan Province, through joint ventures with local developers including Shanghai Forte Land and Gemdale Corp.

In Shanghai, it works with Shanghai Forte Land, the city's largest developer, in a mixed-development project in northern Hongkou District.

US private equity firm Carlyle Group has reportedly made its first deal on the mainland's property market by paying about 950 million yuan (US$118 million) for a luxury 110-villa project in the southwest of Shanghai.

Cross-border investment in China's mainland more than doubled in the first half of this year. Overseas capital mounted to US$2.77 billion in the property market, making up more than half of the nation's total direct real estate investment of US$4.75 billion, said a Jones Lang LaSalle report.

New rules require overseas institutional investors with total investments of more than US$10 million to have at least half of the money as registered capital in a mainland-incorporated enterprise. Foreigners must also live in China for at least a year before they can buy homes or apartments here.

Source:佚名