Why China & Why Now
Alexander Anisimov (Al Sander), Idea Founder
Master of Art
Artchitect, Interior and Product Designer
I have spent more than 25 years in China and know the country not from books but from personal experience. Working in the luxury property and design industry I have had a lot of experience over the years. The unique scheme of working with property developers and niche factories, suppliers of interiors for the most luxurious estates of the Chinese elite, has taught me many techniques that could be used in Europe as well. For luxury property developers, I came up with unusual private sector property projects that they used as a company calling card to attract a special kind of clientele. In coalition with factories where I was the master designer, designing unique collections for them, we established a group of like-minded people to implement such projects.
Why are Wealthy Chinese re-locating abroad? There are several reasons.
1. Chinese citizens are fed up with Covid lockdowns
They were not be able to leave the country at all during those 3 years. Many investors who have their companies abroad lose control over them for a long time.
2. Millionaires want to secure their money as the Chinese economy is facing problems.
A sharp slowdown in China's economy is a negative indicator for domestic investment. The economy is not stable and risks of investment are increasing.
3. Pessimistic approach to Xi's prolonged reign Chinese politics seems unstable for the rich.
4. Higher costs of living in China's cities. Prices rise from 20% to 40% depending on the region.
5. Seeking for native English education
All this inevitably leads to an increase in the size of the Chinese diaspora in the world. While the U.S. used to have the largest number of Chinese immigrants, today the geography has changed. In addition to Australia and Singapore, more and more
Chinese are looking toward Europe.
Spain as one of the quietest havens for Chinese emigration attracts Chinese clients for many reasons. This quick legalization in the country through the purchase of so-called golden residence (minimum real estate investment of not less than 500,000 Euros) or purchase of Spanish citizenship (investment in the economy not less than 2 million Euros). But not only that. Spain has little support for refugees, the Mediterranean coast such as Marbella is the world resort, where security plays a major role.
The number of Chinese millionaires is set to grow from 6.2 million in 2021 to 12.2 million by 2026. According to statistics, more than a third of Chinese millionaires want to leave China.
China’s billionaires want to flee the country
Many wealthy Chinese think about emigrating for a number of reasons related to their personal or social life. Moving is always associated with various kinds of difficulties. These include arranging a new home for the family, preparing for children education, adapting to the peculiarities of the national culture, the language of another country, and security.
"China's billionaires take $60 billion of wealth with them on their way out," according to FURTUNE magazine.
However, the Chinese, used to an active lifestyle, among other things, are looking for a place to invest their money and work for them.
The question arises if there's a unique product in the real estate industry, which would meet all the needs of this category of customers, so that they could choose, for example, a country like Spain?
The Chinese mentality, culture, taste and lifestyle are very different from European standards. For 3,000 years, China has lived with the philosophy of Feng Shui. It is a practice of organizing space. With the help of feng shui you can supposedly choose the "best" place to build a house and its interior arrangement, because human life is the movement of energies. Feng Shui seeks to achieve a positive effect of the space on the people who occupy it.
How to attract Chinese clients
If we look at the luxury properties on offer in Europe, even this notion of space organization is far from what the Chinese would want when choosing their European home.
The second equally important factor is the level of architecture and interior design. The wealthy Chinese are used to buying luxuries and surrounding themselves with refined items.
How much property can we find in Europe that meets the exacting tastes of the rich Chinese? Yes, for the most part, they have to put up with a lot, adopting an alien European culture. The Chinese remain Chinese even if they receive a fine European education.
Now let's look at the average age of the billionaires in the world.
50% the average age is 50-70.
40% over 70
10% below 50
In China, the situation is a little different. 53 years old, the average age of China's 157 billionaires.
What do these figures tell us? This age is quite conservative, with a fully developed worldview, habits, and tastes. When deciding to leave their country, these people want a solution to all their problems in a new country, preferably turnkey.