"No Investment to Be Invited at Expanse of Low Land Price"

State-owned real estate will not be sold cheaply simply to lure investment, according to China's Ministry of Land Resources.

"The phenomenon of renting land-use right at low prices to lure investment has become a thing of the past. State-owned real estate is the most valuable part of the state's assets," said Hu Cunzhi, director of the Land Management Department of the ministry.

The official said that the ministry is urging all the city- and county-level governments to finish the formulation of standard local land prices, or the lowest local land price criteria, before the beginning of 2002.

After the criteria are made public, any dealings at lower prices shall be blocked, said the official.

The ministry has urged that all the state-owned real estate viable for commercial development should be transferred in the form of public bidding or auction. Market transactions only cover five percent of the total land deals at present; most state-owned land transfer deals are approved behind scenes.

If local governments want to attract investors with preferential policies, they can use government financing to subsidize the loss of taxation brought by preferential investment clauses rather than by sacrificing state real estate, Hu stressed.

People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/