The Singapore government said on Monday it has bought a block of land in Shanghai for US$42 million and planned to turn the site into a commercial complex to cash in on China's entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The investment was made via the Government Investment Corporation (GIC), an agency set up in 1981 to manage national reserves of more than US$100 billion.
Singapore said the investment in Shanghai's famous Pudong financial district was timely now that China has gained entry into the WTO.
"We believe in the long-term future of China," Seek Ngee Huat, president of GIC Real Estate said in a statement.
"We feel that the timing is good, as China's accession to the World Trade Organization will open up many new opportunities and attract an increasing number of multinationals and foreign investors to Shanghai and Pudong, which some have called 'Manhattan of the East'," he said.
The proposed building of the 70,000 square-meter commercial building is due to be completed at the end of 2005.
(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2002)
