Developer buys key Shanghai tract

SHANGHAI: Cynics called it bottom fishing. But most real estate analysts considered Shanghai New Huangpu's 224-million-yuan acquisition of the development rights of a choice tract of land on the bund a shot in the arm for the depressed Shanghai property market.

The company, one of the city's largest property developers, yesterday said it has agreed to buy a 55-percent stake in Shanghai Hongtai, whose major asset is a plot of land in the bund's northern section earmarked for office development.

Analysts said the transaction indicates the company's renewed confidence in the future of the city's property sector.