The Shanghai municipal government has "bulk purchased" apartments at several properties in Pudong New Area to accommodate top talent and low-income residents, a property research institute said.

From early this month, government-funded developers have been snapping up apartments en masse near Lujiazui and Zhangjiang, E-house China R&D Institute data showed.

Typical of the trend was the purchase of all 66 apartments at the Dingxin Mingliuyuan residential complex on the first day they went on sale.

The Pudong government planned to spend at least 2 billion yuan ($292 million) over the next three years to make the district more attractive to professionals through measures such as providing subsidized housing. Part of the money will fund construction of about 37,000 apartment units.

Those who move into the subsidized housing will be eligible for up to 200,000 yuan in relocation compensation, the government had said earlier.

A 120-unit apartment building for banking executives is slated for completion in Lujiazui next September. The apartments will average 280 sq m.

Other incentives include permanent residency and preferential tax policies that could cut the maximum personal income tax rate from 45 percent to about 20 to 25 percent for residents.

(China Daily December 26, 2008)