Grab a piece of the USA for only $88
ALWAYS dreamed of owning a plot of land in the United States? Well for the amazing price of $88, a piece of terra firma in the heart of the Mid-West could be yours.
The only catch is the property is a luscious green patch of one square inch.
The Hong Kong-born president of Iowana University in Iowa, Dr Paul Ki Ping-ki, is trying to sell another three million of these plots to prospective property owners in the territory and China to raise money for charity.
Iowana University owns the 26,000 square feet of land in Creston, just outside Iowa City, but has divided it up to try to raise more than $260 million.
Dr Ki said when he put the properties on the market half the money raised would be used in Shaoguan, Guangdong, to set up funds to help fight AIDS, allow students to study overseas, and stimulate the city's economy.
Dr Ki's friend and Shaoguan businessman, Wang Yung-de, said he believed people in China would snap up the land.
''Although it is just a piece of one-square-inch land, Chinese people will be interested in buying them as souvenirs, and it sounds very good to give their friends or relatives 'a piece of foreign land' as a gift,'' he said. Prospective owners will have to sign a 100-year lease agreement which giving the freedom to transfer the leasing contract at a fee of US$5 (HK$39).
Dr Ki said yesterday he hoped his scheme would make it easier to invest in China.
