LOS ANGELES—Chinese insurers are the newest players in theUnited States real estate market, according to Michael VanKonynenburg, president of Eastdil Secured. Van Konynenburggave the economic update at Allen Matkins' recent View fromthe Top conference in Beverly Hills.

Van Konynenburg used a chart to rank the activity of Chineseinsurers, showing China Life, Ping An Life, CPIC and Anabang Lifeas the biggest players, but there is a long list of smallerinsurers starting to play in the market as well. “The scale issignificant. They are going to be an enormous player in U.S.market,” he said in his speech. Manhattan is currently the largestrecipient of Chinese capital, while Los Angeles is number two.

Global search for yield

The Chinese insurers are the latest investment pool to arrive inthe U.S. as part of the global search for yield because U.S. isstill a relative value compared to other countries, although VanKonynenburg noted that Germany is also attracting foreign capital.“There is a global search for yield,” he explained. “We are tryingto understand the impact of negative rates. It puts strain on thebank, and seriously impacts global pension fund returns. You areseeing demand for people to find ways to put money to work to get areturn. This is a world that is very challenged for returns.”

As a result, Asian investors are not only focused on commercialreal estate investments but are also investing in corporate bonds.Van Konynenburg said that investors are trying to decide if it isthe time to own real assets or financial assets in the global huntfor yield. While investors have different opinions, Japanese andChinese buyers are buying corporate bonds in addition to realestate assets.

Allen Matkins View from the Top included speeches from BostonProperties about investing on the West Coast andthe shrinking office buyer pool.