US developer Silverstein Properties and a Chinese partner have bid a record 13.4b CNY (2.2b USD) to win a land sale in a pilot economic zone in Shenzhen and become the first overseas developer in the fledgling project.
Silverstein Properties and Qianhai International Energy Financial Centre bought the large plot in Qianhai Bay for commercial use, according to Shenzhen’s land authority.
Despite being touted as a “mini-Hong Kong” financial and yuan hub, Qianhai had struggled to lure interest from Hong Kong and overseas property firms in several land auctions. This latest bid, however, is the most costly plot of land ever sold in booming Shenzhen — a high-tech, manufacturing and services hub — beating the previous 7.18b CNY land sale record for another Qianhai land plot in July by Chinese mainland developer Excellence Real Estate Group Ltd.
Focused on finance, logistics and IT services, the Qianhai Bay economic zone, an hour by car from Hong Kong, hopes to tap the latter’s expertise as a hub for offshore yuan as it seeks to provide the same services in yuan, bond and equity offerings, insurance products and trade settlement.
Silverstein Properties, developer for the World Trade Center in New York, has joint ventures in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
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