Hong Kong developers finalists in battle for US$2.1 billion site in Shanghai shopping heartland
Shui On Land and Hongkong Land in the running for 78,256 square metre site
Hong Kong developers Shui On Land and Hongkong Land are vying for a prime plot of land in central Shanghai, a move that underscores the rising appeal of China’s top cities among overseas companies.
Two companies have entered the final stage of bidding for the land, according to a statement posted on the official Shanghai Land Market website on Monday. The statement did not disclose the competing companies’ names and said the final results would be released 10 working days later.
Huaihai Road is the face of Shanghai, so the government wouldn’t allow low profile companies … to engage
Shui On, however, confirmed to the South China Morning Post it was in the running and “hopes it can secure the plot”.
Hongkong Land said “it does not comment on market rumours about projects” when approached by the Post, but a source in the commercial property sector confirmed it was the other bidder for the plot.
The 78,256 square metre site is located near the landmark Xintiandi shopping complex, a rarity considering few such plots have gone on sale in Shanghai in recent years. Its starting bidding price is 13.58 billion yuan (US$2.11 billion), or 44,800 yuan per square metre if the total floor space is 302,700 square metre, the maximum space allowed.
“In tier 1 cities, where prime land is rare, investment logic is vastly different from that in other cities. Consideration is put in a 10-year, 20-year time frame, instead of two to three years,” said Zhu Jing, a property analyst with Orient Securities.