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Sandy Li

Singapore-listed mainland developer Yanlord Land Group plans to spend US$300 million to develop a waterfront site in Zhuhai into a luxury hotel-commercial-residential project.

The site - within walking distance from the Gongbei checkpoint - will have  a total gross floor area of 214,500 square metres.

'It will be a landmark development in the city,' said Zhong Shengjian, chairman and chief executive of Yanlord.

Initial plans for the development, along Qing Lu Road in high-end residential area Jida, will include 120,000 sq metres of residential space, with the rest earmarked  for a five-star hotel of more than 400 rooms, office and retail spaces.

Yanlord's move comes hot on the heels of Wachovia's  plan to invest in a 600 million yuan low-density residential project in Qing Lu Road.

Last year, RREEF, the real estate and infrastructure management arm of Deutsche Bank,   formed a 50-50 joint venture to build a US$225 million residential project in Zhuhai.

With increasing numbers of international investors pouring capital into the city, Mr Zhong believes Zhuhai would be transformed into a new financial district in the Pearl River Delta.

Yanlord, with net cash of about S$960 million (HK$4.91 billion),  was 'actively looking for acquisition opportunities in nearly every city', Mr Zhong said.

'We have signed some agreements but cannot disclose details until these transactions have been completed.'

Last December, the company announced it had teamed up with Singapore government-controlled GIC Real Estate to acquire a  large site in Nanjing for 2.4 billion yuan.

'We will only consider forming a partnership on mega-size projects that require substantial amounts of capital,' Mr Zhong said.

Despite Hong Kong's proximity to the mainland,  Yanlord has no immediate plans to seek a listing in the city.

'There is not much difference in listing our company in Singapore or anywhere else,' Mr Zhong said.

This year, Yanlord will spend two billion yuan on  construction  to complete up to 700,000 sq metres of properties.

By 2010, the company hoped to build up an investment portfolio of 500,000 sq metres and raise rental income to 30 per cent of its turnover, Mr Zhong said.

He described current rental income as 'insignificant' compared with the group's S$952 million (HK$4.87 billion) total sales.

The company had a land bank of 3.21 million sq metres in Shanghai, Tianjin, Nanjing, Suzhou, Chengdu and Guiyang,  Mr Zhong said.



Yanlord Land to develop luxury project in Zhuhai