HONG KONG-A late player in China's booming real estate investment market, New York-based Citigroup Property Investors plans to increase its investment tenfold to $800 million (HK $6.24 billion) over a three-year period, according to Stephen Coyle, the firm's chief investment strategist. Investments will be made in Greater China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

Industry sources say the US $800-million investment chest is conservative and that Citigroup could increase that number later as it surveys the market. Coyle's prepared statement says CPI will initially buy office, retail and industrial properties in key cities and invest in residential projects in secondary markets. Coyle says class A office yields--the annual rent expressed as a percentage of the sale price--are 7% in Shanghai versus 4.5% in the US, 4% in London, 3.5% to 4% in Hong Kong and 3.5% in Tokyo.

He cites China's economy that has grown an average 10% for the past three years as a main reason for increasing his firm's investment here. Coyle calls the economic growth "incredible" as it raises income and drives new demand for industrial, retail and office assets. According to Colliers International, Citigroup paid US $50 million last year to buy a 75% stake in Shanghai-based developer Yongxin Group.

Citigroup rival Morgan Stanley said in March it plans to triple its investment in mainland China property to US $3 billion this year. Goldman Sachs Group is another established US investment player in China. Foreign direct investment in China last year totaled US $60 billion, according to Citigroup. Of that volume, 87% went to the coastal Bohai Bay, Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions.

Citigroup Property Investors manages more than US $7 billion of real estate assets worldwide for clients and itself, according to Coyle.