Chinese-Backed 3,000 Unit Bali Condo Stirs Protest

A planned 3,000 unit condo hotel in Bali is creating waves with local residents on the Island of the Gods.

According to Nusa Bali local government officials are closely examining the project, as the resort island grapples with a rapidly urbanizing landscape.

The site is located in Sawangan, next to the luxury St. Regis hotel and near to the tourism enclave of Nusa Dua.

Chinese real estate conglomerate Country Garden Group has paired up with an Indonesian property owner PT Surya Gardenia Propertindo for the project.

Country Garden has been pushing beyond their home back in Guangdong Province with massive developments in Australia and Malaysia.

According to sources the group is currently preparing a push in Thailand, which is strategic given their large base of buyers on the Mainland who are the country’s largest overseas tourism market.

Press reports have stated that hospitality group MGM will brand the condo hotel.

Country Group’s large-scale Malaysian development in Johor state near to Singapore has been in the news recently given issues with Mainland Chinese buyers who are unable to take currency out of the country to Malaysia to make real estate installment payments.

A recent report in the Straits Times said that many property buyers were using UnionPay credit cards to make installments with developers but that the issuer was set to restrict this practice.

The clampdown on exporting currency has created a crunch in many international projects that cater to the Chinese segment and capital controls continue to squeeze investor’s appetite to invest abroad.

As for Bali’s reaction to the giant footprint of a mass-market condominium, expect the great debate on Asia’s surging tourism footprint to continue.