Chinese property developers shrivel up in Australia, New Zealand but are they ‘hibernating’ for better times?

But, unlike other foreign developers before them, their time has closed with a slow fizzle rather than a stampede exit.

The way these developers ended their time in the Australasian markets has been largely driven by their ownership and how much their funders have been affected by China’s property crisis.

State-owned developers like Greenland Group and China Poly Group have been actively closing down their Australian operations as their parent companies claw back capital.

Subsidiaries of publicly-listed Chinese developers such as Country Garden, China Aoyuan and Chiwayland have also relinquished their interests as some of them struggle with debt repayment in the face of poor sales and weak cash flow.

There were also self-funded private developers that have evolved into local enterprises. They were not leaving but like their domestic peers, were not actively developing mainly due to challenging market conditions.

But unlike the Japanese, Chinese developers including those who have left are “hibernating” with the hope of building in Australia again when the market recovers, says Liu Hao, president of the Chinese Building Association of New South Wales.

The Australian real estate market remains a lure for them despite local backlash against foreign buyers and poor relations between Australia and China in recent years, Liu adds.

“When Chinese developers, particularly those with small to medium private businesses, arrive in Australia, the first order of the day is to apply for permanent residency,” Liu said.

“Many of us have come to Australia not just to make money but because we like being here. It’s a good place to raise a family,” he said. “That’s the difference.”

While there was a sense that Chinese developers had “fled”, many