Zhuoguang Holding Co Ltd paid a record 4.83 billion yuan ($711 million), or 35,490 yuan per square meter, for a parcel of land in Shanghai on Wednesday, and set a new high for domestic properties.

Zhuoguang Holding Co, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed The Wharf (Holdings) Ltd, bought the 54,415-sq-m residential riverside plot in Pudong district, next door to the Lujiazui financial center and the Expo Garden.

Shanghai-based Greenland Group and Hong Kong-listed Sun Hung Kai & Co Ltd also bid for the parcel.

Earlier this month, The Wharf (Holdings) Ltd bought a site in Shanghai's Songjiang district, which will be developed into a luxury residential complex for 992 million yuan.

The Wharf (Holdings) Ltd twice failed to obtain a riverside site in Huangpu district earlier this month.

Despite the fact the transaction set a new record high price for residential land in Shanghai, many market observers said it's a bargain for the buyer.

The price had been expected to surpass 50,000 yuan per sq m before the bidding began.

The site, which gained from its proximity to Expo 2010, was worth the money, according to Xue Jianxiong, an analyst at E-House (China) Holdings Ltd.

Apartments built on the site could easily sell for more than 100,000 yuan per sq m, said Xue.

"This new king of land is not a result of commercial exploitation or speculation," he said. "The price of this transaction may influence later bids for sites after Expo 2010 Shanghai ends and more land in Pudong is sold."

Prices of residential sites in Shanghai have been soaring in recent years. The previous high price was a site in Yangpu district that sold for 32,000 yuan per sq m in December 2009 to a State-owned company.