Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai Greenland Group, one of the largest property developers in Shanghai said yesterday it will invest 4.5 billion yuan (US$560 million) in Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan Province.
Under a cooperation framework agreement signed by Greenland and the Zhengzhou government, Greenland will build a 280-meter highrise with a floor space of 180,000 square meters near the city's exhibition center.
The highrise will include a five-star hotel as well as office and retail space. The project is expected to commence in December next year, Greenland said in a statement.
The company also acquired a 4.34 million-square-meter plot of land in Zhengzhou's new development zone to build apartments. Construction on the project will also start at the end of next year.
This is Greenland's second move in one month to expand its reach in second-tier cities as housing sales and prices in Shanghai have dropped.
Last week, Greenland purchased a 40.11 percent stake in Nanjing Urban Development Group, the biggest developer in the capital city of Jiangsu Province.
The purchase enables Greenland to become Nanjing Urban's controlling shareholder. Nanjing Urban owns development rights to a large stockpile of land in Nanjing.
Greenland also has the right to raise the stake by 10 percent in 2008.
Government-backed Greenland has also launched two other projects in May in Zhengzhou, where housing prices have surged 30 percent since January to 3,323 yuan a square meter last month.
Greenland's move is one in a series by property developers seeking bigger returns in less developed cities.
The real estate sector in big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing has experienced a slowdown in prices and volume this year following regulatory measures to rein in speculation.
Hong Kong Shui On Land Limited, which has developed a host of projects such as Xintiandi in Shanghai, started construction on a 10-billion-yuan project in Chongqing Municipality in western China last month.