Beijing's land auction market has been full of twists and turns recently.
Yesterday, on June 24th, leading state-owned property developer China Merchants Shekou engaged in 178 rounds of bidding to secure a residential plot in Beijing's Tongzhou district, paying a premium of nearly 21%.
Today, however, a different kind of heavyweight buyer emerged in the capital's land market.
A prime commercial and financial plot, designated Z10 and part of the second-phase land development project in the core area of Beijing's Chaoyang CBD, was offered for sale.
The auction concluded with only one bidder, highlighting the relatively cooler demand for commercial land compared to residential plots.
The winning bidder, Beijing Jinting Real Estate Co., Ltd., acquired the land at the reserve price of 2.993 billion yuan.
What has piqued industry interest is the background of Beijing Jinting Real Estate, a company established just this June with a registered capital of 4.7 billion yuan.
Its sole shareholder is Guoshou Qihang Yiji (Tianjin) Equity Investment Fund Partnership Enterprise (limited partnership).
The actual capital provider behind this deal is the state-owned insurance giant, China Life Insurance Company Limited, along with its affiliated entity, China Life Real Estate Investment Management Company, which acts as the general partner (GP) for this private equity fund.
The commercial and financial plot acquired by China Life has a notable history.
It was initially auctioned back in 2011, won by a consortium including Peking University Founder Group, Rongtong Leasing, Anbang Property & Casualty Insurance, and China CITIC.
Subsequent events, including the downfall of the Anbang group and the bankruptcy restructuring of Peking University Founder Group in 2022, led to the plot being returned and shelved.
This May, the Z10 plot was re-listed for sale.
The site area remains unchanged at 8,046 square meters, but the above-ground gross floor area has been reduced from the original 150,000 square meters to 120,000 square meters.
The plot ratio is 18.6, and the permitted building height has been lowered from 300 meters to 125 meters.
The final transaction price of 2.993 billion yuan is 450 million yuan less than the original 2011 sale price of 3.45 billion yuan.
Geographically, the Z10 plot acquired by China Life maintains a consistent architectural style with the adjacent Z11, Z12, and Z13 plots.
The Z11 plot was won in 2011 by a sole consortium of Center Group and China CITIC Bank for 2.632 billion yuan, but the award was later invalidated, leaving the plot unsold to this day.
Notably, the Z12 plot was secured in July 2011 by a consortium including Taikang Life Insurance, CITIC Real Estate, and China CITIC for 3.08 billion yuan, representing a 46.7% premium; it is now the Taikang Tower.
The Z13 plot was acquired around the same time by a consortium of China Life, Sino-Ocean Group, and Vantone for 2.656 billion yuan at a 52.66% premium; it is now the China Life Financial Center.
Back in June 2021, the Beijing Central Business District Administrative Committee issued a notice regarding the optimization and adjustment of urban design guidelines for the CBD core area.
It mentioned analyzing and optimizing adjustments for the yet-to-be-developed plots Z3 through Z11, considering integration with already completed areas.
Now, the Z10 plot has finally been sold.
This marks a significant return to development for China Life in this area after a 15-year interval.
As of the end of March this year, the book value of "investment properties" held by the China Life Insurance Group reached 11.6 billion yuan.
In March of this year, China Life Investment, the group's alternative investment platform, quietly exited its stake in the "General Times Center," a high-end commercial complex in the core area of Beijing's Lize Financial Business District.
It had acquired the asset three years prior through an insurance asset management plan for a substantial 6.4 billion yuan.
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