Ray White is eyeing more opportunities in Asia, including a possible $100 million investment in a real estate development project in South Korea, according to a report today.
In an article published in today’s Australian Financial Review (AFR), Ray White chairman Brian White said the group’s Indonesian operations had “created a lot of opportunities for us and led to discussions about where we could go next”.
“Ten years ago there was no expectation an Australian real estate group could be relevant in Asia, but we have shown it’s possible and well worth the effort,” Mr White told the AFR.
Ray White has almost 1,000 offices located in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
The AFR report said the Indonesian, South Korean and Malaysian businesses are jointly owned by a franchisor and local investors, with franchises then sold to local business people.
The South Korean project that has sparked Ray White’s interest is a residential and retail development located in Gwangyang, the report said. A decision on whether Ray White would invest in the project was still some time away, the AFR added.
Mr White told the AFR that he was impressed with how much cross selling was occurring between Ray White operations in each country.
“The quality housing in all of these markets matches almost anywhere,” he said.
Other Australian real estate groups with a presence in Asia include LJ Hooker, which has offices spread across eight countries including Indonesia, India, China and Japan, and The Professionals, which has offices in Indonesia and Thailand, amongst others.