Chinese consortium sees off Hong Kong rivals in ferocious bidding war for prime Shanghai commercial land, ending their stranglehold
- The victory marks a high-profile end to a winning streak for offshore investors, who have repeatedly outbid their mainland rivals in the last year
- Group led by China Resources Land bids US$854 million, or 65,200 yuan per square metre, a new record for Shanghai’s commercial land
A Chinese consortium has outbid Hong Kong developers in a ferocious bidding war for a much coveted plot of commercial land in the heart of Shanghai.
The group led by China Resources Land paid a record-breaking price for the plot after winning a bitterly contested auction that lasted for more than 500 rounds, according to the Shanghai Bureau of Planning and Natural Resources and local media.
The victory marks a high-profile end to a winning streak for offshore investors, who have repeatedly outbid their mainland rivals to claim the lion’s share of commercial deals in China’s top cities over the last year.
The Chinese group saw off the challenge of a powerful Hong Kong consortium comprising Swire Properties, Ping’an Real Estate, and Sun Hung Kai Properties, originally slated as the favourites to come out top in the auction.
The winning bid of 5.8 billion yuan (US$854 million) for the plot in Shanghai’s Jing’an district, almost a quarter higher than the starting bid price, translates to 65,200 yuan per square metre of above-ground gross floor area. That is a new record for Shanghai’s commercial and office land.
It is also the first blockbuster commercial site to go on sale in the core part of Jing’an district in more than five years, according to Savills Shanghai. It is approved for construction of a 180-metre tall office building complemented by an underground retail centre.