China's Greenland, Ping An, Agile to invest US$1b in US biotech site

[HONG KONG] China's state-backed developer Greenland Holdings said on Thursday it would jointly invest more than US$1 billion in a biotech industrial park in south San Francisco with smaller peer Agile Group, Ping An Trust and Poly Sino Capital.

The Shanghai-based company, the largest investor in the 210,000-square-metre project, said in a statement it aims to enhance cooperation between China and the United States on biotech research and development via the investment.

In a filing on Monday, the company said it owns 49 per cent of the project, while Ping An and Agile hold 36 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. The land was acquired for US$171 million.

Greenland Holdings have been aggressively expanding outside China and the traditional real estate industry as margins at home slow.

It said last week its infrastructure business aimed to achieve more than 100 billion yuan (S$20.2 billion) in revenue this year, becoming another growth driver after property.

The company has so far invested over US$7 billion in the United States, with projects in Los Angeles and New York.

Separately, Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd, China's second-largest insurer, plans to substantially ramp up its overseas investments to between five and 10 per cent of its overall insurance assets, its group chief financial officer told Reuters on Thursday.

REUTERS