Richard Mendenhall, the leader of our group indicated our sympathy to the tragic earthquake in Sichuan, China and offered to help if needed. The participating members were very interested in the visit since many had visited China in the past. After a brief introduction, the officials answered questions one by one from a list provided by us before the visit. Our members were interested in learning helpful information about the Chinese market through the meeting. Their questions mainly included properties ownership, how to engage in the Chinese real estate market, and the government’s policies toward foreign purchase, etc. According to the officials, there are no restrictions on foreign ownership for Chinese properties though China is a leasehold country, meaning all lands are owned by the government. In the last couple of years, there were some new taxation and/or fees from the government trying to slow down the over-heating housing market. Foreign buyers are treated as locals though there is a one-year residency requirement for foreign nationals who want to own a home in China. The government publishes guidelines on foreign investment, consisting of three categories: 1) encouraged industries; 2) restricted industries; 3) forbidden industries. More foreign investment information is available on the government site at www.fdi.gov.cn. In general, the visit provided a valuable opportunity for our members to meet and network with the government agency.

China Embassy Visit Participants

The Dominican Republic continues to be the site of many mega real estate projects, especially along the coasts. Many of these properties are all-inclusive resorts. While the all-inclusive resorts did provide a boom to the D.R. economy, they have also presented an issue as many of the visitors to the resorts do not leave the resort. Thus, they are not contributing money to the economies in the surrounding areas. There are two major highway projects currently in development, which will shorten the distance to reach the resort areas from Santo Domingo.