A 10,239-square-meter land plot in Hongkou District designated for office and retail development fetched 1.04 billion yuan (US$169 million) today, 49 percent above its starting price, evidence for continuously buoyant sentiment in the city's land market.

Shanghai Sunac Greentown Holding, a joint venture formed last year between Greentown China and Sunac China Holdings, paid an average 26,832 yuan per square meter for the parcel in Tilanqiao area.

"High-quality office and retail spaces in the northern Bund area cost more than 50,000 yuan a square meter at the moment, leaving enough room for the developer to make profit on this project," said Zhao Baogeng, an analyst with Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co.

"Noticeably, two parcels designated for similar purposes but with better locations in the same area were sold for cheaper prices last year, proof for developers' improved capital strength."

Sunac Greentown Investment Holdings Ltd, a non wholly-owned subsidiary of Sunac China, said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Tuesday that it had entered into a facility agreement with a couple of lenders from both home and abroad to receive three-year US$400 million loans.

Shanghai saw robust momentum in its land market in the first six months of this year. Between January and June, 4.66 million square meters of land, excluding those for public use, were sold across the city for 70.3 billion yuan, an annual surge of 120 percent and 379 percent, respectively, according to data released earlier by Soufun.com.