Singapore developers splurged $13b in overseas property shopping spree

In a bid to escape the sluggish market at home.

Local developers are fleeing to foreign markets in droves in a bid to escape the sluggish property market at home. According to PwC, Singapore developers spent almost $13b (US$10b) in foreign property purchases in both Asia and the West in the first nine months of 2014.

The exodus of local investment capital is an unintended impact of government manipulation of local property market.

According to one Singapore-based investor, "The government cooling policy imposed on the Singapore residential market has proven a catalyst for Singapore capital to look offshore because of the constraints it places on development and investment activities. Many of these groups are diversified developers that operate across both the commercial and the residential sectors, and as the residential market slows, their development activity has slowed as well. So in the first half of the year, Singapore was the biggest new exporter of capital in ASia as a source of capital, bigger even than China."

Developers are also looking into emerging markets such as the Philippines, where Singaporean developers have been teaming up with local partners to acquire long-term leases. Australia is another popular destination for local developers.