SOHO buys land after losing case

SOHO China acquired a 16,558 square-meter plot in Shanghai's Changning District yesterday for 3.19 billion yuan (US$512 million), one day after the Beijing-based developer lost a lawsuit against Fosun Group over a stake purchase of a prime site on the Bund.

The land parcel in Gubei area, designated for office and retail development, was sold for an average 30,244 yuan per square meter, or 48 percent above its asking price. The land price is "reasonable" and the size of the project, with a gross floor area of about 150,000 square meters upon completion, is "ideal" for commercial real estate development, Pan Shiyi, SOHO's chairman, said.