Minmetals Land buys 396,000sqm residential land

The HK$410mln acquisition will raise the Company’s land bank to approximately 3.2mln sqm.

Minmetals Land Limited (Minmetals Land) announced the acquisition of three parcels of residential land at base bidding price at a total consideration of RMB360 million (approximately HK$410 million) in an auction conducted by the Bureau of Liaoning Yingkou Land Resources on 12 July 2010. The aggregate site area of these lands is approximately 396,000 sq.m. Given the maximum gross floor area of approximately 713,000 sq.m., the accommodation value is approximately RMB500 per sq.m.

These three parcels of land located within the Liaoning (Yingkou) Coastal Industrial Base and it sits right next to the newly built government office and Park Lake Mingyue. Its surrounding area is well-equipped with a new city stadium, an art center and a 5-star hotel under construction. Such an acquisition, together with the lands of the last asset injection project to be completed, will raise the Company’s land bank to approximately 3.2 million sq.m.

Yingkou lies on the conjunction of the Bohai Rim and Hada Economic Zone and is regarded as the regional centre for the strategic development of the project of “One Coastal Line with Five Centres”, which aims to revitalize the old industrial region of Liaoning Province. Meanwhile, it has been upgraded as a national strategy and Yingkou’s key strategic location and advantages of harbor facilities are affirmed.

China Minmetals Corporation (China Minmetals), the controlling shareholder of Minmetals Land, has actively participated in the development of “One Coastal Line with Five Centres” project in Liaoning since 2006. It has established a strategic partnership with Liaoning Government and set up Minmetals (Yingkou) Industrial Park Co., Ltd (MYIP) in Liaoning (Yingkou) Coastal Industrial Base.

MYIP’s industrial park covers an area of 30.4 sq. km. Having referenced to those successful industrial parks operated within and out of China in hi-tech metal processing and equipment manufacturing, MYIP’s industrial park emphasizes on four leading industries; namely: manufacture of precision machinery and instrument, electronic equipment manufacturing and application of new energy and materials. As planned, the park will be constructed as a modern industrial park featuring optimized industrial cluster, excellent investment environment and perfect ecological environment in the near future.

Mr. He Jianbo, the Managing Director of Minmetals Land, said, “The parent company has excellent relationship with the local government in Yingkou and is regarded by the local authority as one of the most important investors. It is the Company’s investment strategy to acquire land at locations whereby leveraging the scale and brand advantage of its parent company in the PRC. In consideration of the thriving real estate market of Yingkou in the recent years, we expect to achieve a strategic advanced position that we would not only generate more profit in the future, but also bringing synergy with MYIP’s industrial park and promoting the brand of ‘Minmetals Land’.”