Shanghai Bund land auction could hit record price

A prime parcel of land on Shanghai’s Bund could fetch a record US$1.98 billion in an upcoming auction, the South China Morning Post reported. The 57,000-square-meter plot is located on the west bank of the Huangpu River, according to the municipal government. China’s property market has made a strong comeback from the troughs of 2008 as a flood of liquidity brought more investors back to market. "The mainland’s domestic players, namely the insurance companies and state-owned conglomerates, are on the rise, as foreign investors have been squeezed by the global recession," said David Hand, head of investment at Jones Lang LaSalle China. Poly Group and Grand China Logistics Group last week snatched up two plots of land in Shanghai’s Lujiazhui financial district with Grand China paying US$197 million for a 37,000 sq m project.