Chinese property developers eye Vancouver in growing numbers

An aerial view of the 232-acre site, which includes part of the old Ioco townsite.

THE#BCBIZDAILY
Land deals and a valuable apple that doesn’t brown

Hot property
There’s a new class of developer in town. Mainland China-based property developers are bidding on unbuilt sites across Canada in increasing numbers, according to a report from the property brokerage Colliers. While there is strong evidence of Chinese investors piling into residential real estate in Metro Vancouver, this activity is more oriented around land development. The report points to the January purchase of a 232-acre site on the eastern end of the Burrard Inlet by the Shenzen-based Brilliant Curcle Group (For around $40 million, according to the Vancouver Sun). 

Arctic Apples
A Summerland, B.C.-based developer of genetically-modified apples—which most importantly, don’t go brown—has been sold to an American biotech company for $41 million. Okanagan Specialty Fruits announced that it had accepted an offer from Intrexon Corporation for $31 million in stock and $10 million in cash. The deal shortly followed a decision from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that permitted the non-browning apples to be sold for consumption in the U.S. Canadian regulators are yet to give the go-ahead.

Clean initiatives
Clean Energy Canada, the research group that promotes investment in Canada’s renewable energy sector, will be incorporated into SFU’s Centre for Dialogue. Formerly a project of the Vancouver-based foundation Tides Canada, both the organization and its current director, Merran Smith, will join the Centre for Dialogue, which leads other climate-themed programs including Carbon Talks and Renewable Cities. The Centre, which is based downtown, is mandated to “use dialogue to generate non-partisan and construction communication around difficult topics.”