Update | Chinese developers bid 31 billion yuan for land site in Shenzhen, setting new record

Land prices in China hit a new high on Monday after two Shenzhen-based companies joined forces for a winning 31 billion yuan bid to develop a commercial site at Shenzhen’s planned new convention and exhibition centre, making it the most expensive land in the country.

The bid by the two companies – China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings and Overseas Chinese Town – who split the deal 50-50 was for phase one of Shenzhen International Exhibition Centre and development rights for the commercial site. The total buildable floor space is 1.543 million square metres.

The exhibition centre will be near the city’s airport in Baoan district and is expected to be finished in 2018, according to earlier reports. It will be one of the world’s largest exhibition centres, according to the government.

These “Land king” sites, as they have come to be known, have mushroomed in China’s top tier and some second-tier cities with stronger economic growth since the start of 2016. Developers and investors are on the hunt for land to buy because of the lack of good investment opportunities given the fluctuations in stock and currency markets.