There is certainly an order in the world. The planets move around the sun in precise orbits; the earth turns on its axis accurately; the moon orbits around the earth; these are just a few ways. The list is infinite. From the vibration of atoms, to the orbiting of the planets, there is an order in the universe. How then do devastating natural disasters occur? Immediate thought about them seems to reveal that natural disasters are freaks of nature. It does not seem sensible to see weather running berserk. Rain, which has been helping nature in its cycle, suddenly sows havoc. There are floods; thousands of plants, animals and humans perish. It looks as if a usually kind and gentle person suddenly become violent and kills for sport. Natural disasters come in many shapes and dimensions. Some natural disasters are easily predicted, others occur without warning.
There are of course countless studies which show how natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts and typhoons occur. Scientists who spend their lifetimes studying the phenomena are able to analyse the causes. By causes all that we really know is what leads to them. We know that there is a fire below the earth, that at certain points the fire bursts forth and we have a volcanic eruption. We even know that the fire is a leftover from the fire that first begun burning when the earth was formed. With a lot more study, scientists have even been able to predict the extent of a coming volcanic eruption. There is even a way to say that an eruption is imminent. Without doubt, it is useful to know all this. In the countries where this kind of technology is available, lives can be saved through timely evacuation.
What is so far not known is how the eruption can be prevented. Nature is just too powerful for any study to be possible in this area - at least so far. The same can be said for the other types of disasters including: floods, typhoons and earthquakes. Research stops short of prevention. Meanwhile the slaughter continues. All of man's defences are too weak against nature. Perhaps it is nature's way of telling us that we are still rather puny when compared with the vast powers of nature. It is often speculated that natural disasters are nature's way of keeping the human population in check. Perhaps this is too much to assume, but it cannot be dismissed straightaway.
Are any of these disasters caused by man? Well, we can see that man is not the cause of volcanic disasters or earthquakes, but perhaps we do in some way cause weather-related disasters such as droughts, floods and typhoons. We all know that the weather is being affected by the clearing of forests on earth. This is within our control. Hence some disasters could be controlled. All we can do is hope that a day will come when we can control all natural disasters. Till then we have to remain at the mercy of nature.
Watching the news recently, you could be forgiven for thinking that the entire country of China is a pile of shoddily constructed rubble, filled with wailing citizens, and that Burma is a whole country literally flattened, with people unable to work and an economy unable to grow at all. However, the facts are quite different - although they might not make for good news stories! In reality, investors in Asia are unlikely to be put off by these natural disasters, being much more balanced in their view of the region than journalists are, and realizing that long-term prospects for the region are better than ever.
Places like Tokyo and Seoul are tipped as being the places to invest in, where the markets still have at least as far to climb again as they already have, according to Mark Callendar, head of international property research at Schroders. Callendar also tipped Hong Kong and Singapore as being close to their peak - great for short term investments in the near future, but less promising over 2009.
ING Real Estate is another company that agrees with this sentiment, saying that it does not expect investment or demand to be severely affected by the natural disasters in Asia recently. Mid tier residential housing in Chengdu and Chongqing provinces is tipped to be on track again as soon as Sichuan province returns to normality, with a natural slowdown immediately following the quake to be expected.
Thailand is another Asian country that is looking rosy for investors, with a great economic start to 2008. The first quarter growth for Thailand was six percent up on the same period last year, and up close to six percent even on the quarter it followed. The new government in the region seems to be settling down, and this is making Asian property management that much more attractive in Thailand. Koh Samui and Koh Phangan will be hotspots for Asian property investors in 2008, according to Liam Bailey, head of international research at DSR. However, investing in Thailand can be tricky for foreign entities - strict ownership criteria put in place by the government mean that local firms must be engaged for buying real estate.
Some analysts have accounted for the effect of the sub-prime crisis in America on Asian property investment and management. Experts such as Jones Lang LaSalle, an international property consultant, have noted that markets that appear to have peaked (such as Tokyo and some Australian markets) will experience slower growth in 2008 than they did in 2007. The slowdown in these peaked markets will create a lowering of the overall transaction volume, but this natural rise and fall of markets has had much more impact on growth than the relatively minor (in economic terms) natural disasters in Asia.
Some experts have also gone to great pains to point out that even the acknowledged sub-prime crisis in America has been overstated in terms of its effects on Asian property management. Darren Styles, CE of the Brooklands Group, says that 'Much of the negativity about the effect of the credit crunch n the overseas market has been exaggerated. It's a tribute to the ... resilience of the overseas property market'. He is still being approached by many people in the UK interested in buying Asian property.
Don't let the exaggerated media coverage of natural disasters stop you from making a profit on Asian property investing and economies which are set to boom in 2008.
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