SHANGHAI authorities will prevent any excessive rise in land prices within the Lujiazui finance and trade zone in Pudong by controlling land auctions and urging real estate companies to cut costs.
Vice-mayor Zhao Qizheng said there was no limit to the area of land for lease in the zone, unlike in Hong Kong where scarcity of land pushed up land prices.
He said the frequency of land auctions in Lujiazui was controlled, otherwise, prices for land would rise.
Mr Zhao said real estate companies would have to keep costs to the minimum so that property prices would not be forced up.
'If the land price is high, it will spoil the environment for investors. We are very careful about this because if you scare people off, they won't come back,' he said.
The highest land price in Lujiazui was no more than HK$434 a square foot.