By Yvonne Liu
Soho China, the biggest commercial developer in Beijing, has taken its first step in the Shanghai property market by acquiring an office and retail building from Morgan Stanley for 2.45 billion yuan (HK$2.78 billion).
The developer has signed an agreement to acquire the Exchange at 1486 West Nanjing Road in the core business area of Shanghai. It must complete the deal by September 1.
The price of the building is about 34,184 yuan per square metre.
Chairman Pan Shiyi (pictured) said yesterday the company would sell the office and retail space as soon as possible. We will launch the project in September if ready, he said.
Asking prices for the office and retail space are yet to be confirmed.
The Exchange, also known as Dong Hai Plaza, was completed early this year. According to the developer, the occupancy rate is about 30 per cent, with rents ranging between 8 yuan and 12 yuan per square metre per day. Most of the tenants are multinational companies.
Soho China will sell the office space with leases. The 52-storey building has a total gross floor area of 71,671 sq metres, of which about 3,800 sq metres are retail space.
Morgan Stanley is expected to generate at least 490 million yuan from the sale, excluding the rental income. The United States bank bought the building from Zhejiang Green Town Group for 1.96 billion yuan in 2006.
It is our first project in Shanghai, and it certainly won t be our last, said Soho China chief executive Zhang Xin.
Shares in Soho China gained 1.62 per cent to close at HK$4.38 yesterday.
Other big developers are also aggressively acquiring land.
Agile Property Holdings bought two sites in Huadu and Panyu districts, Guangzhou province, yesterday for 717 million yuan. The sites can be developed into projects with a total gross floor area of 141,873 sq metres. Poly Real Estate Group bought a Foshan site for 562 million yuan. The site provides a total gross floor area of 3.73 million square feet.
Related News
- The Wall Street Journal Asia - Morgan Stanley sells Shanghai tower to SOHO
- SOHO China - Pan Shiyi: Superb location and design are critical attributes
- South China Morning Post - Soho China chief feels secure in the spotlight Pan Shiyi s life is an open book, and he s happy with that
- CNN - Zhang Xin: Building Beijing
