Dubai property a big draw for Chinese investors

Chinese individual investors poured about 1.3 billion UAE dirhams ($353 million) in Dubai's real estate last year, nearly tripling that of 2012, as the Middle East's financial hub becomes a growing magnet for the well-off from the world's second-largest economy, the China Business News reported on Thursday.

Statistics from the Dubai Land Department show that about 1,000 individuals from China invested in land, residential housing and office. In 2012, investment stood at 486 million dirhams from only 288 investors.

The spending spree comes mainly as the Chinese wealthy expand their diversified overseas investment in recent years. And properties in Dubai are expected to generate as much as 30 percent of yields, much higher than in Hong Kong, Shanghai, or Beijing, said the report citing industry insiders.

China has increasingly become a main bidder in Dubai's real estate sector, outstripping India, Britain, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, which used to be among its top investors before Dubai became debt-ridden and nearly broke during the global financial crisis starting in 2008.

"The 2020 World Expo to be held in Dubai will help shore up the country's economy and drive its housing prices. That's what makes the country increasingly attractive," an unnamed analyst was quoted as saying.