Some had to restart from scratch after property issues derailed their plans
Chinese companies venturing into global markets are discovering that ambition and technological advantage are not enough to secure a foothold abroad — the unglamorous question of where to place people, machinery, and goods is proving decisive. A survey by JLL found that 82 percent of Chinese firms encountered serious property obstacles overseas, from inflated costs to months-long failed searches, with some forced to abandon their expansion plans entirely. The pattern reveals a structural gap in how these companies approach internationalization: arriving with strong business plans but without a coherent real estate strategy to anchor them. In the long arc of China's go-global era, the limiting factor may not be innovation or capital, but the humble matter of finding the right building in the right place.
- Eight in ten Chinese firms surveyed hit costly or time-consuming property walls abroad, with some scrapping their entire international strategies as a result.
- The disruption cuts across sectors with serious global stakes — EV manufacturers, consumer-goods companies, and industrial players whose competitive edge evaporates when they cannot secure a factory floor or logistics hub.
- Geography compounds the problem: logistics parks are scarce or absent in some markets, while office rents in developed economies have climbed to levels that make even a modest foothold prohibitively expensive.
- The fallout extends well beyond balance sheets — firms struggling to secure facilities also struggle to recruit talent, move goods efficiently, and protect a reputation that customers may blame for delays caused by market conditions.
- Industry analysts are now urging Chinese companies to treat real estate strategy as a core pillar of globalization planning, not an afterthought to be resolved once the business case is already made.
Chinese companies racing to establish themselves in foreign markets are running into an obstacle that technology and manufacturing efficiency cannot easily overcome: securing the right real estate. A JLL survey found that 82 percent of Chinese corporate respondents faced significant property difficulties abroad — paying far more than anticipated, burning months in fruitless searches, or enduring drawn-out renovation processes. For some, the setback proved decisive enough to abandon their original expansion plans entirely and start over.
The companies affected include electric vehicle makers, consumer-product manufacturers, and industrial players that have built real competitive advantages at home. Yet those strengths count for little when a firm cannot secure a factory floor, a logistics hub, or office space without unexpected delays and inflated costs. Daniel Yao, who heads research for JLL China, noted that some firms had to fundamentally reshape their strategies around property constraints, accepting heavier financial burdens, while others were forced to recalibrate everything from scratch.
The obstacles vary by market. In some countries, logistics parks are scarce or nonexistent. In developed economies, office rents have climbed to prohibitive levels. These are not minor frictions — they ripple outward, making it harder to hire talent, move goods efficiently, and maintain a reputation that customers won't blame for delays.
Yao was direct: technological advantages cannot compensate for the absence of a coherent real estate strategy. Chinese firms often arrive in new markets with strong business plans but without a clear understanding of the property landscape they must navigate. The cost of that mismatch can be severe. The lesson taking shape is straightforward — international expansion requires advance planning around the unglamorous but essential question of where to put your people, your equipment, and your goods.
Chinese companies racing to establish themselves in foreign markets are running into an obstacle that no amount of technological prowess or manufacturing efficiency can easily overcome: finding and securing the right real estate. A survey by JLL, the real estate services firm, found that 82 percent of Chinese corporate respondents faced significant property headaches abroad—either paying substantially more than anticipated to acquire or lease space, or burning months in fruitless searches and drawn-out renovation processes. For some firms, the setback proved decisive enough to abandon their original expansion plans entirely and begin their international strategy from the ground up.
The companies affected span sectors with serious global ambitions: electric vehicle makers, consumer-product manufacturers, and other industrial players that have built competitive advantages at home through superior technology and production capability. Yet those strengths mean little when a company cannot secure a factory floor, a logistics hub, or even office space in a new market without unexpected delays and inflated costs. Daniel Yao, who heads research for JLL China, described the pattern in straightforward terms. Some firms, he explained, had to fundamentally reshape their original strategies to work around property constraints, accepting heavier financial burdens as a result. Others abandoned their plans wholesale, forced to recalibrate everything and restart.
The real estate obstacles vary by geography and market type. In some countries, logistics parks—the backbone of modern supply chains—are scarce or nonexistent. In developed economies, office rents have climbed so high that they become prohibitively expensive for companies trying to establish a foothold. These are not minor frictions. They ripple outward into other parts of a company's operation and reputation. When a firm struggles to secure adequate facilities, it struggles to hire and retain talent. It struggles to move goods efficiently. It risks damaging its public image through delays or service disruptions that customers attribute to poor planning rather than market conditions.
Yao emphasized that Chinese manufacturers cannot rely on their technological edge or production advantages to overcome these structural challenges. Fixed assets—office buildings, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers—have become a genuine stumbling block to the go-global ambitions of mainland Chinese companies. The problem is not that these companies lack the capital or the will to expand internationally. It is that they often lack a coherent real estate strategy aligned with their broader globalization goals. They arrive in a new market with a business plan but without a clear understanding of the property landscape they will navigate, and the cost of that mismatch can be severe.
For Chinese firms, the lesson is becoming clear: international expansion requires more than competitive products and operational excellence. It requires advance planning around the unglamorous but essential question of where to put your people, your equipment, and your goods. Without that foundation in place, even the most promising market entry can stumble.
Citações Notáveis
In some cases, they had to adjust the original strategies to find a new solution, which resulted in a heavier financial burden. We found some of them had even scrapped the original investment plans because of the property issues and had to restart from scratch.— Daniel Yao, head of research for JLL China
Fixed-assets like office space, production facilities and logistics parks in various markets could become a stumbling block to mainland Chinese companies' go-global drive.— Daniel Yao, JLL China
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does real estate matter so much for these companies? They're good at making things—shouldn't that be enough?
Because you can't make things or sell them without a place to do it. A factory needs a building. Your supply chain needs warehouses. Your sales team needs an office. If you can't find those things, or if they cost three times what you budgeted, your entire expansion plan falls apart.
So these companies are just arriving in new countries without checking the property market first?
Not entirely. But many of them underestimate how different real estate works in each country. In some places, there simply aren't enough logistics parks. In others, office space is so expensive that it eats into your profit margins before you've even started selling.
The survey says 82 percent had problems. That's almost everyone.
It is. And it's not a small inconvenience—some companies decided to abandon their entire expansion plan and start over. That's how serious the property issue became.
What happens to a company that gets stuck this way?
They lose time, lose money, struggle to hire people because they don't have proper facilities, and their reputation takes a hit when they can't deliver what they promised. The real estate problem becomes everyone's problem.
So the next wave of Chinese companies going global—they'll learn from this?
Some will. The ones paying attention are realizing they need a real estate strategy before they even enter a market, not after.