Last checked at 
* Some wealthy Asians see plunge in sterling as opportunity
* Some property deals slower, re-priced downwards afterBrexit
* Asians have been large buyers of London property
* Top players like GIC say still committed to market
By Denny Thomas
HONG KONG, July 7 (Reuters) - Some Asian institutions andwealthy investors are eyeing London property despite turmoil inthe market following Britain's decision to leave the EU, withthe subsequent plunge in sterling among the factors makingprized assets more attractive.
Panicking retail investors concerned about a possiblemeltdown in British commercial real estate prices tried to pullmoney out of property funds, triggering the suspension of 18billion pounds ($23.4 billion) of such funds this week, thebiggest since the 2008 financial crisis.
Property deals in the process of closing have also beenre-priced lower in the aftermath of the June 23 referendum on EUmembership, because lawyers have inserted "Brexit" clauses inthe contracts, said Mat Oakley, head of commercial research atSavills Plc in London.
But for some rich individuals and private equity investorsin Asia with cash to spare and an appetite for risk, the marketis a tempting bet.
"We have seen an increase in inbound inquiries since theBrexit vote, especially from Asian high net worth individualsand family offices, who still see London as a safe destinationfor property investments," said Henry Chin, head of research forreal estate broker CBRE Asia Pacific.
Asian investors are unlikely to have been affected by thisweek's fund suspensions, as they do not have a high exposure tothem in Britain and tend to invest directly in apartments andhouses, said Johnny Heng, Wealth Management Chief InvestmentOfficer for Asia ex-Japan at Nomura.
BIGGEST BUYERS
Flush with cash and seeking to diversify investments, Asianplayers were among the biggest buyers of central Londonproperties last year, accounting for 19 percent of 20.5 billionpounds ($26.6 billion) in deals, according to CBRE Research.
Some want more.
"(London) will still be the key financial capital andinsurance capital to the world, (and is) not likely to bereplaced by Frankfurt or Paris in the near future or ever,"Goodwin Gaw, Chairman and Managing Director of Gaw CapitalPartners told Reuters.
"The weakening pound and sellers who have the opposing viewto us represent opportunities," said Gaw, who helps manage $12billion in global property portfolios. "(We) still will beinterested but need to see a proper correction first," he added.
With vacancy rates of 4 to 5 percent in the financialdistrict and the development pipeline expected to be constrainedbecause of the Brexit vote, the fundamentals of Londoncommercial real estate look attractive, said Oakley.
Laws that forbid a roll-back in rents also make Britishproperty alluring as the yield is protected.
These factors have prompted Chinese investors, who togetherwith Hong Kong buyers accounted for 45 percent of Asia's centralLondon purchases last year, to splash millions of dollars in topend London apartments, golf clubs and vintage properties in theBritish countryside.
For the moment, some large Asian property investors saidthey remained committed to Britain.
"The leadership vacuum in British politics is not a matterof concern," said a source close to Chinese private conglomerateFosun Group, which has an active pipeline of bothcommercial and residential property in London.
Fosun did not offer an immediate comment.
In a sign of tensions in the market, the source said Fosunhad been approached by a number of British residents consideringselling their London commercial properties since the Brexitvote.
Singapore's GIC, the Asian sovereign wealth fund with thebiggest exposure to UK property, also said it was prepared toride out short-term volatility caused by Brexit.
"We take a long-term view when investing in a particularcity or country," Lee Kok Sun, Chief Investment Officer, RealEstate for GIC told Reuters.
Some London-based property investors and property owners,however, are cautious.
"There is so much uncertainty ... it's extremely difficultto make an honest and logical opinion," said London-basedMichael Browne, co-portfolio manager of the $294 million LeggMason Martin Currie European Absolute Alpha Fund.
"We're in the worst of the vacuum at this point," Brownesaid. ($1 = 0.7704 pounds)
(Additional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London, Herb Lashin New York, Ross Kerber in Boston, Sumeet Chatterjee in HongKong and Saeed Azhar in Singapore; Editing by Lisa Jucca andMike Collett-White)
