The Digital Transformation of Property in Greater China

"At face value, if you're not familiar with or operating in the industry, a discussion on China's property market and its digital transformation would seem either too niche or too complicated. Yet the masterful narration and poignant insights penned by Paul, Dean, and Roman make this a compelling and important read for all. They map out the digitalization of property against the backdrop of China's increasingly dominant technological innovation."

"This book captures the fascinating stories of 'smart city initiatives' in China, where urbanization has been a major driver of national development. As tech is a key pillar of urban infrastructure for any smart city, Chinese tech companies from Alibaba and Tencent to some start-ups are playing unparalleled and unprecedented roles. Paul and his colleagues tell you all you need and should know about these developments."

"The business landscape in the past three decades has been driven by data and digitization in the virtual world. The next three decades will see an explosion of data and digitization in the physical world, where online and offline will blend together. In order to truly understand this dynamic, one needs to use a lens both from top-down and bottom-up perspectives. Paul's deep understanding of global economies, geo-politics, financial systems and the role of real estate combine to illuminate the drivers behind this exciting evolution."

"The melding of AI and IOT is an equally accessible opportunity for all countries in the world. As long as we are all willing to innovate and invest in them, everyone can all get very promising returns. This book introduces many successful cases. It is an inspiring read for those who are interested in cutting edge innovations in proptech."

"This comprehensive volume provides a panoramic analysis of China's ongoing digital transformations. This book is a must-read for entrepreneurs and scholars of China alike."

"As revealed in Innovation's Crouching Tiger, the 'five-year plan' is an effective observation tool for tracking the development of China's innovation ecosystem. The authors of this book proficiently use this tool to analyze contemporary issues, exemplary cases, and interesting stories in connection with digital transformation of property in Greater China, providing a clear, organized panoramic perspective for readers who wish to gain insights on such rapid-changing frontier."

"Paul and his co-authors offer a fresh and timely insight into the key technologies shaping China's digital strategy and the new breed of corporate behemoths emerging from the region."

"To find 'comparative' advantage requires the broadest possible understanding of the history, present circumstances and future plans of a nation's competitors. This book offers readers detailed perspectives into China's past success, its plans and aspirations. It is not necessary to 'agree' with China's plans to succeed by developing and exploiting comparative advantages. It is, however, essential that we understand China. This book helps readers achieve that understanding."

"An intriguing masterpiece with in-depth analysis of China's roadmap to be the next proptech powerhouse along the lines of its FinTech mastery. This book shows how this will be achieved through heavy investments in 5G, IoT and Blockchain."

"China will be taking a leadership role in driving the global landscape for both FinTech infrastructure as well as the future world of regulated digital assets such as buildings and logistics. This book gives a peek into the exciting digital finance ecosystem that is rapidly developing in China. The authors have put together many unique insights with their deep insider perspective into a world which is largely opaque to an international audience."

"The authors offer a unique insider's view of the coming revolution in the digitization of property assets. In addition, it lays out many ways in which finance, insurance, healthcare and environmental science will be embedded into a multi-trillion-dollar asset class which has barely been touched by the digital economy."

"The Digital Transformation of Property in Greater China brilliantly weaves together the digitization of urban planning and property as well as the massive government buildout behind it. Whether you are optimistic or pessimistic about China, this book will give you a far clearer picture of modern China and her wildly ambitious plans to create the infrastructure of the 21st century."

"Paul Schulte's latest book (with his co-authors Shemakov and Sun) is called The Digital Transformation of Property in Greater China and describes the transformation of the asset class through the smart city initiative. In fact, the title doesn't do the book justice, as it explains the integration of traditional infrastructure with FinTech and also emerging technologies like blockchain. In so doing, it also lays bare how far China is ahead of the rest of the world in building a truly integrated digital economy."

"Blockchain and 5G technologies are at the center of China's latest drive to digitize its physical assets, particularly commercial and residential real estates. This effort has brought and will continue to bring sweeping change to China's economic and financial system, with significant implications for the world. Read this book and you will get an excellent understanding of China's policy vision for new technologies over the coming years and how private businesses have used their imagination, innovation and partnerships with the public sector to bring digital transformation to daily life in China."

"For years, the conversation around proptech has been full of speculation and imagination. The Digital Transformation of Property in Greater China finally brings that conversation to reality through a comprehensive analysis of the technologies and policies that have already begun to shape the future of real estate, especially in China. The authors provide a roadmap toward opportunity to those who choose to understand it and a warning to those who do not. This book raises the right questions at a critical moment."

"'Government policy doesn't intersect directly with cutting edge technology.' A dangerously naïve sentiment that is particularly wrongheaded when considering China. This book is vitally instructive in 'connecting the dots' in the digitization of the economy for Western investors, executives, policymakers and institutions. The book offers a framework to understand how government policy, macro trends, digitization and human behavior all intersect to drive economies and power humankind forward. I believe it can deepen understanding and support informed decision-making among all stakeholders."

"This book offers insight into a massive on-going digital transformation as well as a new war on monetizing data to enable an economy to exponentially thrive in an increasingly competitive world. It's not just about technology or data but how to combine these two elements into a digitally accelerating economy. China and its actions along the Silk Road is creating an economic superpower based on data. And it is monetizing this data via building blocks of modern economies: people, industries, cities, buildings, finance, planning and execution. This book brings the key elements at play via use cases to create an in-depth understanding of the digitalized power struggle vying for ecosystems that drive expansion and competitiveness in a highly polarized century."

"Paul Schulte, Roman Shemakov and Dean Sun provide an original, engaging and considered narrative map of the birth of Greater China's re-imagining both cities and real estate in a digital age. The book offers clear signposts for Greater China's aims and its commanding role of emergent technologies. At the same time, it analyzes the philosophical foundations of this seismic VoE (Value of Everything) economic revolution. I could not stop reading it — neither will you."

"The US and China are engaged in one of history's greatest competitions over urban technology and proptech. While the United States' role has received an outpour of coverage, China's role has remained in the shadows. This book is the first cohesive work to make sense of China's proptech industry. This will be an essential field guide for everyone looking to understand technology's impact on the built world and the future of cities."

"An insider's guide giving you an in-depth view into China and the companies changing our world. Chinese companies are innovation powerhouses, understanding how they harness these key technologies will give you a glimpse of the future. A must-read."

"Paul, Dean, and Roman have articulated what many in the West have feared. China has a commanding and expanding lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This is a data-based societal transformation requiring a level of state involvement that the US is yet to embrace. Rather than rejecting market mechanisms, China's centralized embrace of Blockchain, AI, and other forms of digital infrastructure will see private Chinese firms continue to be global leaders in Fintech, 5G, AI, and, as the book explores, PropTech. This book is a celebration of what China can achieve through public/private collaboration. It is also a warning to the US of the widening innovation gap between itself and China."

Paul Schulte has worked for all three branches of the US Government, including the National Security Council in the 1980s. He has taught at more than nine universities on five continents and currently advises some of the largest financial institutions across the world. He has written five books. The most recent ones, published in 2019 and 2020 by World Scientific are The Race for 5G Supremacy, as well as, AI & Quantum Computing for Finance & Insurance. He is very active with the Singapore Fintech and Blockchain Associations.

Dean Sun is an Excellence in Scholarship Fellow at Zhejiang University. His "Market Algorithm Model" won him a scholarship to Imperial College. His newest work in machine learning has been recognised at the Zhejiang provincial level. He has also worked in investment banking in China.

Roman Shemakov is a Luce Fellow, working on Smart City and Urban Technology in Taipei. His writings have been published in the Columbia Journal of History, the Harvard Classics Journal, the Tufts Journal of International Studies, the Taiwan Business Topics and more. As a Questbridge Scholar and a Frank Lyman Fellow he has conducted extensive research on urban planning, peace and security, digitization in the developing world, and telecommunication throughout Berlin, Moscow, Kyiv, Singapore, and Washington, DC.

Sample Chapter(s)
Foreword
Chapter 1: Five-Year Plans and China’s Vision of the Future