FLOOR space at the huge mixed-residential-commercial complex Gateway Plaza in Shanghai will be offered for sale in Hong Kong next month, according to its developers. The 240,000-square-metre complex in Xuhui district included 24,000 sq m of office space, 177,000 sq m of residential apartments and 18,700 sq m of shops, according to Ryoden Property Development. There was also a clubhouse with recreational and sporting facilities. Ryoden is a member of the Hong Kong-Shanghai consortium that is building Gateway Plaza. China Nation Enterprises leads the consortium. Ryoden is one of four Hong Kong companies that make up China Nation Enterprises. The others are Shun Hing Electronics Trading Company, Simatelex Manufactory and Peace Town China. Their Shanghai partners are the Shanghai Municipality Xuhui District Property Management and Shanghai Dyestuffs Corporation. Although the Gateway Plaza is one of many developments that are scheduled to be completed in the next two years, its developers are optimistic that demand will continue to exceed supply. 'With 2,000 new joint-venture companies [setting up] every year, there is no way Shanghai will be able to satisfy demand in the foreseeable future,' Boris Ying, general manager of Ryoden, said. 'There is already a backlog and, even if the planned 700,000 sq m of office space does become available by 1997, there will still be a significant shortfall.' Ryoden said it believed tenants would be attracted to Gateway Plaza because it was only 15 minutes' drive from Shanghai International Airport and also near the underground railway. The redevelopment of Xuhui and its historical buildings would raise demand in the area for properties like Gateway Plaza, it said. Already Shanghai's central business district was expanding into the outskirts of Xuhui because an influx of foreign companies had driven up demand for office space, in particular for mixed-use properties.
