[pennyintheslot]

What’s bad about foreign capital influx? Someone has to plan these buildings, someone has to build them. It creates jobs in various sectors.

We should be glad that the Chinese view our countries as safe and want to invest into them.

The real problem is that our local governments are unable to adjust the supply to the demand. THAT drives up prices and nothing else.

/edit: You could even make a law that foreigners can only invest into new construction which would make it impossible to invest without value creation for the local economy.

[seemack]

The jobs associated with planning and building are clearly a positive in an absolute sense. The counter-point is this positive aspect is very much outweighed by the negative aspects. The housing supply for people who actually need somewhere to live is being limited which drives up the housing prices and rental rates.

Re-reading your comment, it feels like you've missed the point that these units are largely not being made available to the housing market.

[chansiky]

Foreign capital influx isn't bad unless the capital that is being traded is bad, which in this case it very likely is.

On the direct trade it's a win for both sides, the side with bad money turns it good, and the the side with the asset converts it into capital (just like every other trade, which is always a win for both sides), but not at a broader level where illegitimate funds enter the system and become legitimate, whereby the one producing the illegitimate funds are the true victors, stealing away with real value while the rest of the market is destabilized for introducing illegitimate turned legitimate extra capital.

To clarify, by not doing due diligence and allowing funds created in a nontransparent shadow banking system to enter the real market, you are giving the power of printing money to a foreign entity.