SHENYANG, China, Aug. 15, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Great China International Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB:GCIH) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Loyal Best Property Development Limited, a Hong Kong limited company, for $24.51 million USD from Gentle Knight Limited.
Through the acquisition, Great China assumes ownership of a parcel of land located at the center area of the Hunnan New Zone in Shenyang, China. The purchase price included $4.01 million USD for all outstanding shares of Loyal Best and $20.5 million USD for the purchase of all outstanding director loan notes previously issued by Loyal Best, which were used for a portion of the land transfer fee payment on the Hunnan New Zone property.
"The acquisition of Loyal Best fits well with our mission to identify prime real estate opportunities and to develop premium commercial, residential and mixed-use properties that attract international investors to the China real estate industry," said Fang (Frank) Jiang, chief executive officer. "Our next step will be to assess the development potential of a new compound residential use property called the Olympic Sports Center Project in the Hunnan New Zone. The preliminary time for ground-breaking and construction will be in March 2008, and we expect to see a return on investment as early as August 2008 when we begin presales on the property. We believe this acquisition presents an attractive opportunity to showcase our expertise in real estate development and management, as we move closer to our goal to become one of the largest non-state owned real estate developers in northeast China."
The project lies close to the Shenyang Exhibition Center and is named for its close proximity to the newly built Shenyang Olympic Sports Center -- the soccer venue of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The Olympic Sports Center Project spans 64.75 acres (262,020 square meters) and will have immediate access to a variety of facilities in the heart of the Hunnan New Zone via Line Two of the Shenyang subway, which is currently under construction through the city center. The Hunnan New Zone is a modern new city zone on the south bank of Hunhe River that integrates finance, commerce, education and scientific research, high-quality living and recreation and sightseeing.
About Great China International Holdings
Founded in 1989, Great China International Holdings' wholly owned subsidiary, Shenyang Maryland International Industry Co., Ltd., is the largest non-state-owned real estate developers in Northeast China. The company's core business is premium residential and commercial development and management. It currently owns and manages the President Building, which was completed in April 2002, with 25 tenants comprised of Fortune 500 companies, including General Electric (China) Co., Ltd., Johnson & Johnson, Kodak and Philip Morris. The company's prior developments included the Maryland Building, Roma Resort Garden, Qiyun New Village, Peacock Garden, University Campus of Shenyang Teacher's University, and Chenglong Garden, mostly located in Shenyang.