SHANGHAI: Real estate prices in the city are on the boil again after Hong Kong-listed Zendai Group yesterday bought a plot near the Bund area for a record price.

Zendai was among the four realtors who were in the fray for the 45,472 square meters site, which was finally sold for 9.22 billion yuan ($1.35 billion), or 34,148 yuan per square meter in gross floor area.

The record price comes at a time when the nation is taking steps to cool domestic property prices that soared nearly 7.8 percent by December in the 70 major cities, over the same period in 2008.

The Bund plot is part of the area earmarked for the international financial service center, according to Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Planning and Land Resources (SMBPLR). The developers intend to set up a commercial complex offering financial services as well as offices and cultural utilities, spread over 370,000 square meters of gross floor area in total.

"This was the first plot of land up for grabs in the future Bund financial industry zone. When complete, the zone would be spread over an area of 2.6 square kilometers and have nearly 1.9 million square meters gross floor space. The area would be a global hub for financial services," said Chen Sheng, director of the China Index Academy in Shanghai.

Shanghai Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng and Mayor Han Zheng have expressed concern over the skyrocketing property prices and said such increases would harm sustainable growth and development.

Over 29.28 million square meters of commercial residential units were sold last year, an increase of 48.9 percent year-on-year, said the municipal statistical bureau.

The nation's banking regulator said last month it would ask lenders to tighten scrutiny of property loans as part of its efforts to control credit growth and prevent asset bubbles.