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Prime Shanghai plot auctioned for record $446M

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-24 16:37

Gemdale Corp, a Shenzhen-based real estate developer, won the auction for a plot called "No.10 Zhaoxiang Town Residential Compound" for a record price of 3.048 billion yuan ($446 million) on Thursday, China Securities Journal reported Friday.

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The plot, with a gross floor area of 210,000 square meters, is located in the Zhaoxiang Town of Qingpu district, the western suburb of Shanghai.

The land value in terms of per unit floor space is up to 14,499 yuan ($2,123) per square meter.

Established in 1988, Gemdale Corp is one of the leading real estate developers in China. Statistics from the company show that its sales volume in the first half of this year was 8.575 billion yuan ($1.26 billion), a year-on-year increase of 72.47 percent.

"Gemdale's purchase will surely drive housing prices in this area. The current prices of surrounding compounds are between 18,000 yuan ($2,635) to 30,000 yuan ($4,392)," said Xue Jianxiong, a researcher from E-House China.

"The corporation bought this plot as it has only a few plots in hand," Xue added.

On June 30, a plot called "No. 15 Guangqu Road" was auctioned for 4.06 billion yuan (US$600 million) in Beijing.

Property prices in 70 major Chinese cities increased by 0.2 percent in June from a year earlier, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said earlier this month.