THREE land parcels on the former Expo site in the Pudong New Area fetched nearly 2.6 billion yuan (US$419 million), with two sold at the starting price.

The three plots, designated for office and retail purposes, were priced at around 27,000 yuan a square meter.

The eastern branch of China Power Investment Corp paid 1 billion yuan, or 33,192 yuan per square meter, for a 7,607 square meter plot, 22.6 percent above the asking price.

Huatai Insurance Company of China acquired a 11,686-square-meter parcel for 949 million yuan and a private enterprise in Shenzhen bought another 7,824 square meter plot for 635 million yuan.

About 21 plots covering 410,000 square meters are due to go to auction this month in Shanghai, just 30 percent of those released in April by size, according to by real estate website Soufun.com. Starting prices, however, total 11.7 billion yuan, almost the same as those registered in April.