Forte in talks to buy Shanghai property from Goldman

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese property developer Shanghai Forte Land Co Ltd <2337.HK> is in talks to buy a high-end residential property in Shanghai from Goldman Sachs in a deal worth more than $200 million, two people familiar with the situation said.

Foreign investors including Goldman, Morgan Stanley and Macquarie Group Ltd have been reducing their China property holdings during the past year, taking advantage of the country's real estate market rebound as the global financial crisis weakened some western banks.

Forte is in the final stages of negotiations with Goldman to buy Shanghai Garden Plaza, after rival bidders such as Poly Real Estate Group Co quit, the sources said.

Goldman bought the residential complex of villas and serviced apartments in 2007 for $190 million, according to real estate agency CB Richard Ellis .

Shanghai Forte spokeswoman declined to comment. Goldman spokesperson could not be reached immediately for comment.

China has vowed to curb speculative inflows, punish land hoarding and speed up home supplies in a bid to cool a property market boom fueled by loose monetary policies and last year's nearly 10 trillion yuan ($1.5 trillion) in new bank lending.

China's mature property market is losing luster for foreign investors as yields decline due to surging prices and falling rental income, Grant Ji, director of global real estate agency Savills said on January 6.

Last July, Macquarie's investment unit sold Shanghai luxury property City Apartments for about $44 million.

Morgan Stanley also exited some China projects last year, including high-end residential property Chateau Pinnacle in downtown Shanghai.

WhatsAppFacebookTwitterLinkedinBeloudBluesky