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Published on April 29, 2008

The Nation

Since Beijing won the Olympic Games bid in 2001, about US$41 billion (Bt1.3 trillion) has been budgeted for Beijing's transformation and a substantial portion of this has been invested in improving the environment and expanding the city's infrastructure.

The goal of these investments is to change Beijing permanently and positively and ensure that it can handle further economic and population growth.

Ben Christensen, the company's head of research in Beijing, said the government, in its effort to improve the capital's development landscape, had facilitated the completion of a large number of new, high-quality space in key commercial areas through investment and construction approvals.

This has led to a substantial expansion in the high-end retail, office and residential sectors, which is a very positive development for the city.

Beijing's high-end property market is undergoing a dramatic expansion as total stock in the office, retail and residential markets is expected to grow 52 per cent, 89 per cent and 58 per cent, respectively.

The increase is substantial and will likely lead to temporary oversupply conditions.