South China Morning Post - Soho pays 4b yuan for Chaoyang site in Beijing

SohoChina, the biggest commercial builder in Beijing, yesterday bought a site in the capital for four billion yuan (HK$4.54 billion).

It was Soho s second acquisition in three weeks after it paid 2.45 billion yuan for the Exchange in Shanghai.

The 67,241 square metre site in Wangjing in Chaoyang district could provide a total gross floor area of 392,265 sq metres. The project is earmarked for offices and retail, but the retail space will be limited to 50,000 sq metres.

The land auction attracted bids from Sino-OceanLand and ChinaResourcesLand. SohoChina won the site on the 213th bid.

Despite the price being 164 per cent above the reserve price of 1.51 billion yuan, chairman Pan Shiyi said it was still reasonable. The unit price is 10,197 yuan per square metre.

Pan estimated the price of retail space could reach 50,000 yuan per square metre, while offices could fetch 30,000 yuan per square metre.

It will be the landmark in the area, as the building height could reach 200 metres. Also, Wangjing is a residential area lacking in retail facilities, Pan said.

Strong contracted sales have prompted SohoChina to become active in land acquisitions again. Pan said the firm had generated more than seven billion yuan from contracted sales in the first eight months.

Meanwhile, Greentown China Holdings yesterday won a residential site in Hangzhou city centre for two billion yuan. The 37,360 sq metre site could provide a total gross floor area of 100,872 sq metres.