Jiangmen, a city in Guangdong province that is also part of Beijing’s Greater Bay Area development zone, is attracting interest from mainland Chinese as well as Hong Kong-based property developers. Several companies are looking at the city of 4.6 million people that is about two to three hours from Hong Kong by train or ferry, because of its low land prices and development potential. It sold eight residential land plots totalling 1.67 million square metres in June, its highest tally since 2018, according to PIC Research, the research arm of Beijing-based state-owned enterprise China Poly Group. There is confidence in Jiangmen’s potential because of continued optimism “about the future direction of the Greater Bay Area”, Shanghai-based Shimao Property Holdings said on Friday. “We are very focused and upbeat about the Greater Bay Area. If we think a project [within the development zone] promises profit, we will participate in it,” a spokeswoman said. Why Jiangmen’s home prices could be restrained by its ‘minor’ Greater Bay Area status “Every developer – mainland or Hong Kong based – is optimistic about it. Competition is bound to be keen,” she added. The developer already has residential projects in the city, having started buying land in Jiangmen some years ago. Moreover, Hui Wing-mau, Shimao’s chairman, met the city’s top officials during a visit last week. “Where possible, the company will explore possibilities of working with the government, but we still need to discuss this,” the spokeswoman added. Guangzhou-based Yuexiu Property , meanwhile, said Jiangmen had “quite good market fundamentals”. The company has four projects and has invested 2 billion yuan (US$289.4 million), mostly in land, in the city. “We have leveraged our position as a national corporation for a commercial partnership with a local national corporation in Jiangmen,” Lin Feng, Yuexiu’s deputy chairman, executive director and general manager, said on Monday. “They will provide land resources and we will leverage our ability in property development – using our strengths to boost the value of the project,” he added. Yuexiu will work towards more partnerships with other companies in Jiangmen, Lin added without providing further details. Family town of Lui Che-woo and Andy Lau is Greater Bay Area’s second poorest Shenzhen-based China Vanke , one of the country’s largest developers, signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the city’s municipal government on August 18. According to the deal, which runs from this year until 2025, Vanke will cooperate with state-owned enterprises on urban renewal, investment and construction of railways and transit-linked construction. The company also established Jiangmen Vanke Enterprise this year, according to mainland media. Hong Kong-based K. Wah International Holdings also launched two residential projects – wholly-owned J City and joint-venture project Jiajun Garden – in Jiangmen in the first half of this year, according to its first-half results released last week.