Currency

A volatile week for sterling?

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Good Morning, after weeks of the markets being dominated by three stories, President Trump, Brexit and COVID-19, it seems like we are at last reaching the end game in two of them.

President Trump has all but conceded defeat to Joe Biden.

The markets are now anticipating what a Biden presidency is going to be like and the Brexit negotiations, famous last words, look like they are in the final furlong. COVID-19, however, is still tearing its way through much of the world with America reaching record hospital admissions; however, on this side of the Atlantic, it is starting to look more containable. The great news in the last week was, of course, the upcoming availability of a vaccine against the virus in the UK. Widespread inoculation will help life return to normal quicker than possibly anticipated and hopefully give us a head start on the road to full economic recovery.
 
Over the weekend, Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen had a one-hour phone conversation which has led to the two negotiating teams returning to the table. It did emerge from the call that the same three issues, fishing rights, a level playing field and dispute resolution are still no closer to being solved. With President Macron facing an election next year, it is no surprise that he is playing tough over fishing, partly as much of the French trawler fleet is in areas where his support is weak. This week we will find out whether it’s all just bluff and bluster from politicians on both sides of the Channel. The euro has been enjoying a stellar run against the dollar as sterling has, but if there is a genuine breakdown in talks, both currencies will drop sharply. Away from Brexit, we will be watching out to see if the dollar can recover from its recent weakness and what the ECB are up to on a European super Thursday.

GBP

Over the last week, sterling appreciated against the dollar due mainly to dollar weakness but also on optimism of a Brexit trade deal. It gained almost two cents at one point touching the high of $1.3515, which was a level we last saw after December 2019’s election. A recent market survey reported that most participants were expecting a Brexit trade deal in one form or another. Still, it only managed a modest move against the euro over the week and has opened weaker at €1.1060 this morning. With the trade negotiations on a knife-edge, we are expecting an extremely volatile week for sterling as we enter what really is now the end game. With institutions seemingly committed to a positive outcome, we think the risks to sterling are more to the downside as either a thin deal or no deal now looks most likely. It’s a quiet week on the data docket in the UK this week with just October’s Industrial and Manufacturing figures and GDP on Thursday for us to digest.

Euro

Looking away from Brexit this week the euro will be dominated by “Super Thursday” when not only is there an ECB meeting but also an EU leaders’ summit. Alongside Brexit, another problem the leaders face is getting the Recovery Fund approved. Last week, the markets chose to ignore Poland and Hungary’s protestations over the fund taking the view that, as is often the case, Europe will find a fudge. The question remains whether the leaders can find a solution as well as whether they can agree on any possible Brexit trade deal. We will also be watching for further stimulus from the European Central Bank and listening closely as no doubt President Lagarde tries to talk the euro down on Thursday. With suggestions that China and Switzerland are needing to rebalance their reserves by buying euros, this may be a thankless task.  On a quiet data docket, we have the results of the ZEW sentiment surveys on Tuesday to look forward to as well as the Eurozone Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, and we will be studying November’s German Consumer Prices on Friday.

US

The dollar slumped to its lowest level against the euro for nearly three years last week, as the single currency traded comfortably around the $1.2150 level. Non-Farm payroll data last Friday was disappointing and with over one million cases of COVID-19 over the last five days, the US economy will continue stuttering causing the dollar to slip. With the election receding into the memory, attention is turning towards the chances of agreement over the much-needed stimulus. With a lame-duck administration until the swearing-in of the new President next January hopefully, there will be a chance of some political compromise. There is very little data out this week for the market to fret over, apart from November’s inflation numbers and Initial Jobless claims on Thursday. Also, on Thursday, we will be watching to see if the Food and Drug Administration approves the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine when it meets.

Scandi

What should have been the start of what is usually the strongest period for SEK has been quite the opposite. The Swedish currency remains under pressure against the EUR with stricter COVID-19 restrictions, internal fighting within the fragile Social-Left-Green-party coalition and the world’s oldest central bank taking action, which surprised all market participants just before month-end. Albeit December has just begun, 2020 has once more proven to be the year of surprises, and we will closely monitor all macro developments. This week we will pay extra attention to the Budget Balance, which is out alongside the latest Industrial Orders figures and Swedish Housing price data. The important CPI (inflation) figure is out on Thursday, together with the latest Household Consumption data.
Last week’s biggest headline from Norway was the resignation of the Deputy Governor of Norges Bank, due to a potential conflict of interest which arose partly because of his marriage to a Chinese citizen for which he was denied security clearance to continue his job. Nicolaisen had also overseen overseeing the world largest sovereign wealth fund, and it is still unclear who will replace him. What long term impact his departure will have on NOK remains to be seen, but should it be anything like the initial reaction, then the NOK may weaken further. This week we will get the GDP figure on Wednesday and the CPI on Thursday all expected to remain static on a month-on-month basis.

ROW

With a European summit on the horizon and continued dollar weakness, we could see some upward movement in the Swiss franc this week as traders seek a safe haven in Europe. On the other side of the Atlantic, the Canadian dollar looks set to benefit from strong employment numbers as well as positivity towards Oil after the recent OPEC+ agreement. Its cousin in Australia underwhelmed last week and was amongst the worst performing currencies in the G10 which Philip Lowes speech this week is unlikely to change. Finally, the Japanese yen has been relatively quiet recently but, with risk appetite continuing to grow, it could start appreciating as funds flow from the US dollar.

Time for a Brexit breakthrough?

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Good Morning, last week the markets switched their attention away from the recent US election and started reacting to COVID-19 derived headlines. Risk sentiment see-sawed during the week and will continue to be the primary driver of currency moves.

Initially, the stock markets went to the moon on the news that Pfizer had developed a COVID-19 vaccine that was at least 90% effective. As stock markets rallied risk sentiment improved and beta currencies such as the pound rallied. As the week progressed the market mood soured as the realisation hit that there is a likelihood of more economic setbacks before the vaccine can make a difference. Europe now has widespread lockdowns as the second wave of the virus rampages through the continent but more troubling for the markets is its spread in the United States. Whilst Donald Trump has been in charge, the economy has been kept running but the market’s worry is whether Joe Biden, if he becomes President, will implement widespread lockdowns.

In the coming week, we expect currencies to remain mainly event-driven with the same three stories, as in recent times, dominating. Firstly, the uncertain political backdrop in the US is still rumbling away in the background, with allegations of fraud, legal cases and recounts continuing. Secondly, with American COVID-19 cases increasing exponentially, the fear of post-Thanksgiving lockdowns in the US is starting to permeate through into the markets. Finally, after another week of seemingly little progress, there is a sense that we may, at last, be approaching the end game in the Brexit trade deal negotiations as they increasingly becoming time-critical. With plenty of unpredictable themes set to drive the markets this week, we will be here to help, giving you insights on how this could impact your currency requirements and how we can mitigate these risks.

UK

Sterling traded in quite a narrow range last week, finishing at $1.3150 against the dollar, after touching a high of $1.3250 and at just above €1.1100 against the euro. As we enter the second week of lockdown in the UK the infection numbers seem to be dropping and attention is starting to switch to Number 10, where Boris Johnson has been forced to self-isolate. After two hardline Brexiters, Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain left last week there is an increased sense that the land is being prepared for a relatively soft Brexit deal. Time is really running out now to get any free trade agreement ratified by both parliaments and the feeling is that a deal needs to be agreed in the next couple of weeks, if not sooner. As always with Brexit, it is best not to rule out a surprise and we will, of course, be watching the headlines closely. There is not a lot of data being released in the coming week apart from October’s Consumer Price Index on Wednesday and October’s Retail sales on Friday. The Bank of England is also busy with Andrew Bailey, Dave Ramsden and Andy Haldane all set to speak.

Euro

The market shrugged off some dire economic figures from the Eurozone, allowing the euro to have a relatively good week, touching at one point a two-month high of €1.1920. Buyers have been encouraged as lockdowns seem to be leading to a flattening of coronavirus curve. If this flattening continues the opportunities for opening of economies in the run-up to Christmas will increase and Europe’s economy, and the euro, will benefit whilst the US flounders. As with sterling, the euro will benefit from any Brexit breakthrough but, as we have seen recently, once it approaches $1.2000 the ECB will verbally intervene to try and cap any advance. The EU virtual summit on Thursday could be the platform for an announcement regarding Brexit. Plenty of speakers from the ECB this week, with Christine Lagarde scheduled to speak every day apart from Wednesday! There is not a lot on the Eurozone data docket this week with just October’s Consumer Price Index on Wednesday and Consumer Confidence on Friday.

US

Donald Trump has remained relatively quiet in the last week, however, he has still yet to concede defeat. Whilst the media and most of the market are assuming that Joe Biden will be the next President, it is still not finalised, and States have until December 8th to resolve disputes. Away from politics, the dollar will again be driven by switches in risk sentiment most likely caused by COVID-19 derived headlines. New York and Chicago are taking steps to try and halt the spread of the virus, whilst elsewhere it is verging on being out of control with patients in the Midwest being unable to find hospital beds. With Donald Trump unlikely to impose restrictions it will be down to local governors to decide but many consumers will have made their mind up and will stay at home. There are plenty of speakers from the Fed this week, who are likely to reiterate the same mantra of “whatever it takes” whilst hinting at further intervention if necessary.  A relatively quiet week on data with just October’s Retail Sales, released on Monday, and the Thursday’s employment numbers catching the eye.

Scandi

The Swedish krona had a roller-coaster week, initially strengthening against all major currencies and then weakening rather spectacularly on Friday. What started the sell-off on Friday was a report from the Riksbank saying that annual growth from the Nordic countries’ largest economy was lower than initially publicised which was followed later in the day by the government of Sweden imposing new COVID-19 related restrictions. Restaurants, bars, and nightclubs must now shut at 22:00 until the end of March, thus affecting the crucial festive period. This week, we will watch for the unemployment rate out on Thursday
The Norwegian krone also had a volatile week, after initially strengthening but then lost ground towards the end of the week and practically finished unchanged. On Tuesday, we will get the consumer confidence indicator which will tell us whether we can expect festive cheer from the retail industry post-Christmas, or not. We will also get the GDP figure on Tuesday.

Over in Denmark, the decision to kill 17m minks in the country was taken by the government after a mutation of the virus was found in them. Denmark was until last week Europe’s largest fur producer and the industry turned over almost $1bln 2018-2019. Experts predict that 1,000 farms will now close permanently affecting 6,000 jobs. We will monitor any statements from the Danmarks Nationalbank and the finance minister Nicolai Wammen closely this week.

ROW

The Australian dollar had a relatively quiet week last week as the country seems to have got the second wave of Covid under control we will be watching closely for signs of a further deterioration of their relationship with China. This week the Royal Bank of Australia’s Governor Philip Lowe is speaking, and we will be keeping an eye out for the unemployment figures on Thursday. The yen traded at just above 103 on the vaccine news last week but as the week wore on its own COVID-19 spike started to concern markets and the currency eased. The Canadian dollar was driven by movements in oil and as West Texas Intermediate (WTI) turned south the currency followed. With no economic data to drive the loonie this week, it will again most likely track the oil market.

Sterling just sitting on the fence

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Good Morning, after a week dominated by rumour and counter rumour, sterling ended up slightly stronger as investors became optimistic that at least both sides of The Channel were back talking.

Some in the market took the view that the politicking early in the week was at best “a third-rate, will-they-won’t-they melodrama, in which a knowing audience in Brussels and London opened and ahead, safe in the knowledge that the two sides would ultimately return to the table — if only to avoid taking the blame for failure”.

Sterling is now hovering just above the middle of its trading range reflecting the consensus that there is a slightly better than 50:50 chance of both sides breaking the deadlock. Apart from Brexit, the American election, in just over a week’s time, looms large over the world’s financial markets and despite President Trump’s better showing in last week’s debate, commentators are wondering if it is too little too late and continue to predict a blue wave. If a blue wave does indeed sweep Biden to power and give him control of both houses, the dollar could fall further in the aftermath of the election as he is broadly perceived as anti-business.

The week ahead is again going to dominated by the US elections and currencies will be buffeted by the changes in risk sentiment caused by it. Brexit is still uppermost in the thoughts of both sterling and euro traders, and we will spend the week yet again, watching the headlines. As we are becoming sadly accustomed to COVID-19 and its destructive grasp on the world economies, this is a resurgent danger that the markets must watch. With the ECB setting the pace this week, Central Banks are sure to continue to offer unlimited help and resource in addition to most governments continuing to do the same to support businesses, but increasingly the question will be who and how will it all be paid for?

UK
As the UK government celebrated the signing of an all-encompassing trade deal with Japan (having settled the Stilton war) the larger matter of a trade agreement with Europe appears to be edging forward after the resuming of talks last Thursday. There is now a cautious optimism over these negotiations after Michel Barnier extended talks into this week and President Macron appears to be softening his stance regarding fishing. However, the continuation of the talks is fully priced into sterling as are the chances of a satisfactory outcome, consequently the danger now lies in an “unstaged” breakdown in the talks which would see sterling fall sharply. We will be watching domestic developments particularly on the containment of COVID-19. With next to nothing on the data front this week, sterling is again most likely to be driven by the dollar switches in risk sentiment.

Euro
The euro, assuming an absence of Brexit news, will be overshadowed by COVID-19 and thoughts about this Thursday’s meeting of the ECB. With last week’s release of disappointing Purchasing Managers Indices, ECB President Christine Lagarde is expected to deliver a dovish message hinting at further quantitative easing in December. The euro may also gyrate more this week against the dollar as it is the largest and most liquid currency pair in the world of FX. Consequently, it is also the most sensitive to changes in risk assessments over the upcoming US election. On the data front, we will be watching for the release of further information regarding confidence starting with the German ifo data today. This data is followed by European consumer confidence and September’s German Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Thursday. The week closes with European CPI and third-quarter GDP.

US
The dollar spent last week reacting to rumours over the likelihood of a stimulus bill being passed, which at the end of the week didn’t seem any closer than at the start. The longer this stimulus is withheld, the more the damage to the economy will continue, and with COVID-19 surging towards 85,000 daily cases, the need for economic help is growing. With just over a week until the polls in the US election, the market has been broadly selling dollars in expectation of a win for Joe Biden. Despite over 50 million votes already being cast, there does remain a ray of hope, amongst his supporters, that Donald Trump can triumph in a repeat of the last election when he trailed Hilary Clinton in the polls. The Trump team will be partly pinning its hopes on this Thursday’s release of third-quarter GDP which should see a huge recovery and embolden his claims of his economic prowess at the White House.

Scandi
The krona had a very quiet week despite the political uncertainty hanging over it. The pound strengthened modestly against the krona, mainly on the back of the restart in Brexit talks more than anything impacting the Swedish currency. With schools closed for half-term this week, most political commentators do not believe any major domestic breakthroughs will be made and that the uncertainty will spill over into November. This week we will be keeping a close eye on the trade balance and the latest household lending figures out on Tuesday. An important economic tendency survey is released on Wednesday and the latest retail sales figures as well. The latter is expected to have remained stagnant on a month-by-month basis.
Over in Norway, a growing number of COVID-19 cases has seen the government impose tougher restrictions. Just like its big brother, the krone had a very quiet week and was range-bound. The most important data release this week in Norway will be Friday’s unemployment rate which is expected to have decreased to 3.5% from 3.7% on a month-by-month basis.

ROW
The Japanese yen will remain the main beneficiary of any fallout from the US election especially if it looks like it is going to be a contested result. The new Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, is due to address parliament today but it is unlikely he will announce anything to move the markets. Elsewhere, with little out on the data front apart from third-quarter inflation figures on Wednesday the Australian dollar will remain vulnerable to any further protectionist moves by Beijing. Apart from the policy meeting of the Bank of Canada on Wednesday, the week looks quiet for the loonie and its movement will most likely be dominated by the likely outcome of the US election.

Question
Why do the clocks change?
The Germans were the first to implement the idea in 1916 during the First World War, in the hope, it would improve productivity in their war economy by saving coal. Britain and most of its allies soon adopted the concept. Once the war was over, most countries abandoned Daylight Saving Time (DST), except for Canada, the UK, France, Ireland, and the United States. The rationale is to put clocks back every year heading into winter to allow people an extra hour of daylight after work. This was the original idea first originated by George Hudson, an entomologist and astronomer, who invented modern DST and proposed it in 1895. He was a British-born New Zealander who wanted to allow himself an extra hour of sunlight in the evening to collect insects!

Decision day for UK and US

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Good Morning, President Trump dominated the headlines and the market’s attention last week, as he returned to the White House much earlier than anticipated full of vim and vigour. The markets responded positively, and risk appetite returned which helped beta currencies such as sterling, which ended slightly better on the week at $1.2975.

There is still a slight question mark about his health and whether he is fully recovered, so currencies will stay jittery for the foreseeable future. Away from the health of the president and American politicking over fiscal stimulus, the overriding driver of the markets for sterling is Brexit. With the self-imposed deadline of the 15th October for agreement over a trade deal just a few days away now, we are expecting the markets to be extremely sensitive to Brexit headlines.

Looking forward, the focus this week will be on the EU summit on Thursday and Friday, which coincides with Boris Johnson’s deadline. At the time of writing, it seems extremely unlikely that an agreement will be reached by then and with Michel Barnier saying October 31st  is the “realistic deadline” an extension of the talks is to be expected, even if it is just to discuss how best to cope with a no-deal. We will also be watching how the second wave of COVID-19, both in the UK and Europe, develops. So far, the spread has been ignored, but the economic impact is still real. The harm already inflicted was reflected in last week’s economic data which was worse than anticipated both in the UK and America and sadly local lockdowns look more and more likely to increase as will the damage they inflict.

Sterling
As mentioned, the week ahead is a big week ahead for sterling as we enter the end game on the Brexit negotiations, with the most likely outcome an agreement to continue negotiations into November. Sterling is sitting just on the key technical level of $1.3032* which many feel is the middle of its trading range, reflecting a 50/50 chance of a no-deal. If there are any truly positive signs of a breakthrough, the pound would break this level and rapidly appreciate. The pound has been holding steady around the €1.1000 level, but this week we expect to see a little more movement. With economies both in the UK and Europe set to suffer more from COVID-19 induced restrictions, the pressure is firmly on both sides to agree to a compromise and increasingly the market senses that a resolution will only come from direct intervention from the key players involved, namely Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson. The focus on the data front will be the release of unemployment data on Thursday, which is expected to be gloomy as we approach the end of the main furlough scheme. The only scheduled noteworthy speech is from BoE Governor Andrew Bailey who is speaking late this afternoon.
*50-day moving average

EURO
The euro enjoyed a relatively stable week against both sterling and the dollar, despite the verbal interventions of the ECB to try and talk the single currency down. We expect to see more jawboning from ECB officials especially when the currency approaches $1.2000 which appears to be the level that concerns the central bank. In the coming week, the main story will be Brexit and naturally what is good for sterling will be good for the euro as both sides equally need a deal. Christine Lagarde is scheduled to speak late this morning and again on Wednesday but apart from that, it’s a quiet week until the EU summit on Thursday and Friday. The only major data of note is from Germany where the Consumer Price Index is released Tuesday as is the latest ZEW economic survey.

US
Today is Columbus Day, a national holiday in the US, so we are expecting a very quiet start to the week. Over the weekend Donald Trump made a public appearance at the White House and was declared COVID-19 negative. Despite the clean bill of health surprisingly the second presidential TV debate has been cancelled. As the election looms ever closer, politics and Donald Trump’s health will naturally continue to dominate the headlines. With the opinion polls now suggesting a clear win for Joe Biden, the risk of the result being contested is receding which will support riskier currencies and suppress the dollar. On the data docket this week we have inflation figures released on Tuesday, jobless claims on Thursday and retail sales on Friday.

Scandi
Towards the end of last week, we saw some hefty movements in the krona caused by the global switch in risk assessment. Speculation has increased in Sweden about the Vänster Partiet (the left-wing coalition partner of the ruling Social Demokraterna party) joining the opposition parties in a vote of no confidence in the government. Should this happen, the fragile coalition would falter, and new elections would have to be held. This unstable political situation will most likely dominate movements in the krona from a macro-perspective the coming days. We will also be keeping a close eye on the CPI release on Tuesday and the unemployment rate out on Thursday.

The Norwegian krone has recouped some lost ground in October and is back trading at levels last seen in mid-September against major crosses. With no major data releases out this week, we will be monitoring the oil price as it has a direct effect on the oil-exporting country’s currency.
We rarely mention the Danish krone since it is pegged against the euro, making it easier to just follow the euro’s movements, however, it is worth noting that the EURDKK is currently trading at its lowest level since 2018, even though EURUSD is currently near its highest level since 2018.

ROW
In common with other G10 currencies, the Japanese yen remains beholden to moves by the US dollar and as a safe haven currency, it will benefit from any political fallout in America during the run-up to the election. The aussie dollar will be dominated by two events in the week ahead, firstly the speech from RBA Governor Philip Lowe on Wednesday ahead of the employment data which is due on Thursday. With the RBA stating the importance of jobs to its policy stance, it is unlikely that any surprises are in store. The kiwi will remain dominated by domestic politics with the general election on the 17th October which the incumbent is expected to win. As always, the Canadian dollar will be following its southern big brother but may gain some strength if oil stays relatively strong.

Question
What is a moving average?
A moving average is a popular technical analysis tool. Moving averages are usually calculated to identify the trend direction of a currency or to determine its support and resistance levels. It is a trend-following indicator because it is based on past prices. The longer the time period for the moving average, the greater the lag and the greater the influence. So, a 200-day moving average will have a much greater degree of lag than a 20-day MA because it contains prices for the past 200 days. The 50-day and 200-day moving average for currencies are widely followed by investors and traders and are amongst the most important trading signals. As they are so closely followed, they can become self-fulfilling prophecies and when a currency breaks through a moving average many investors will follow the move.

Something For The Weekend?

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Weekend Briefing- 10/07/2020

Good Morning All,

Happy Friday!

  • Sterling ended up virtually unchanged yesterday, having traded up as high as $1.2670 at one point during the morning. This was caused by the market warming to Chancellor Sunak’s package of stimulus measures and encouraging sounds coming from the Brexit talks.
  • US jobless claims were better than expected, but the US equity markets turned tail in the afternoon due to increasing Covid-19 concerns. As they did, sterling gave back some of its gains, ending the day unchanged against both the dollar and the euro.
  • Both sterling and the euro are trading at or around their 200 day moving averages which if they break on the upside will be key buying signals for technical traders.
  • Away from sterling, Croatia and Bulgaria are set to get approval to enter ERM-2, a preliminary step toward joining the euro. They would be the first new members since 2015 and a decision is expected over the weekend.
  • The pound has enjoyed its best week for nearly a month, but overnight is lower as the markets adopt a more risk-averse tone. Today is a very quiet day on the data front and unless we get some positive news from the Brexit talks, sterling may well continue edging back down as traders look to book profits ahead of the weekend.

Support and resistance levels

GBP/USD Support 1.2512 Resistance 1.2651
EUR/USD Support 1.1222 Resistance 1.1402
GBP/EUR Support 1.1086 Resistance 1.1265

On This Day…

On this day in 1856 Nikola Tesla, the Serbian-American inventor was born. Considered by many as America’s greatest electrical engineer, he is credited with coming up with the idea for radio, and after whom the tesla (a unit of magnetic flux density) is named. His work fell into relative obscurity following his death in 1943, however, during the 1990s there was a resurgence in popular interest in Tesla.

We hope you had a good week and will have an even better weekend!

 

Australian market set to open lower

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Anyone who wants to invest in Chinese property must be ready to move there. According to regulations, individual foreign buyers need to demonstrate that they have worked in China for at least a year and are buying the residence for self use,” says Anthony Couse, managing director in the Shanghai office of global real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle.

The capitalist elements of its economy make it easy to forget that China is a communist country. Although property ownership is common, in China “ownership” means one has obtained the right to use the land, not own it. “All land is owned by the government,” says Regina Yang, head of research and consultancy in the Shanghai office of global real estate consultancy Knight Frank. Land for residential use is typically leased to property owners for a period of 70 years, Yang says. “After that, whether or not ownership will revert back to the government is uncertain.”

Bigger Cities May Be Safer Foreign Investments

If an individual does find the right opportunity to purchase an overseas investment property, he or she can employ strategies to mitigate the risk of currency fluctuations when making a down payment or ongoing mortgage payments. For example, people who want to own a home abroad can set up a bid through an online foreign exchange service, which enables a buyer.

An important point for those looking for overseas investment properties: Anyone who wants to invest in Chinese property must be ready to move there. According to regulations, individual foreign buyers need to demonstrate that they have worked in China for at least a year and are buying the residence for self use,” says Anthony Couse, managing director in the Shanghai office of global real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle.

The capitalist elements of its economy make it easy to forget that China is a communist country. Although property ownership is common, in China “ownership” means one has obtained the right to use the land, not own it. “All land is owned by the government,” says Regina Yang, head of research and consultancy in the Shanghai office of global real estate consultancy Knight Frank. Land for residential use is typically leased to property owners for a period of 70 years, Yang says. “After that, whether or not ownership will revert back to the government is uncertain.”

The Chinese government ranks cities into “tiers” based on their population size and gross domestic product (GDP). According to Yang, Tier-1 cities (e.g., Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzen) and Tier-2 cities (e.g., Chengdu, Chongqinq, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Nanjing) are the best international real estate investments because they have.