The Chinese government officially lowered its GDP target growth to 7.5 percent in March, the first time since 2005 that the target has been moved south of 8 percent. After GDP growth of 8.9 percent in 2011 and 10.4 percent in 2010, the world’s second largest economy is definitely cooling. China has slowing exports and an even greater slowdown in imports, and continued deceleration is predicted for the coming months. The “bao ba” (“protect the eight”) target that the Chinese government has set as a minimum for the past seven years is now officially over. Should investors be worried?

For many foreign investors, China is still at the exotic end of their investment spectrum. However, China is opening up to new foreign capital across all sectors. To date, the focus has been on Beijing and Shanghai, but that is starting to move on to second-tier cities, such as Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shenyang, Dalian, Tianjin and Hangzhou.

In 2012 Australia emerged on another radar screen: as a favored destination for global real estate investment. The 2012 AFIRE survey ranks Sydney fourth in non-U.S. cities in choice of location for global investment, after London; São Paulo, Brazil; and Paris.