Shanghai's most expensive housing project, Tomson Riviera, has sold four apartments in less than a week after it failed to sell a single unit in nine months.

 

The company's website showed that three apartments were reserved, at an average price of 69 million yuan (US$8.6 million) per unit, by two buyers. The first flat sold earlier this month was priced at 130 million yuan (US$16.2 million).

 

The three buyers are all overseas Chinese. The developer refused to release details of the buyers. One of them booked two units, on the 12th and 13th floor.

 

Weighing in at an average of more than 115,000 yuan (US$13,580) per square meter, the apartment block, developed by the Hong Kong-listed Tomson Group Ltd, takes an "incomparable location" overlooking Shanghai's scenic riverside Bund area.

 

Analysts had predicted overseas buyers might invest in Shanghai's real estate market before the implementation of further government policies aimed at cooling the overheated market by limiting foreign capital access.

 

According to six Chinese ministries and commissions including the Ministry of Construction, foreigners will only be allowed to buy one flat in the Chinese mainland for their own use, and overseas institutions will only be permitted to buy office space in cities where their branch or representative organ is located.

 

However, Feng Zhongliang, a sales manager with the Tomson Group said the project was targeting high net worth clients, who were a special group of people.

 

"It's very reasonable that the clients begin to buy or book units after the nine-month marketing process of our company", Feng was quoted by the Shanghai Youth Daily as saying Wednesday.

 

Tomson Riviera consists of four residential towers each over 40 stories on the east bank of the Huangpu River. The apartments range in size from 406 to 1,240 square meters.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2006)