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Birmingham City Council is trying to attract further investment from Hong Kong, after raising £300m for more than 1,000 houses.
Waheed Nazir, corporate director for economy at the council, said council officers had travelled to the MIPIM Asia conference to present investment opportunities to large Asian institutional investors, including Birmingham Smithfield, the Curzon Investment Plan and the High Speed Two (HS2) rail project.
Funders based in Hong Kong in particular have been active in the city’s property market, with investments of almost £300m, which have helped to deliver more than 1,000 homes in the city centre.
Mr Nazir said: “Leading Asian investors see Birmingham as an attractive proposition due to our youthful demographics, key occupiers such as HSBC coming in, the progression of HS2 and a diverse set of investable propositions.”
Andrew Heyn, British consul general to Hong Kong, said Birmingham’s influence among Asian investors was part of a pattern that included other major cities.
“All of our big regional cities are punching above their weight out here,” he said.
“Hong Kong is a key gateway city for the whole of Asia and this market is increasingly attractive to investors who are looking for new locations for capital.”