A unit of Yanlord Land Group has paid $1.63 billion to acquire a site in China for an integrated development.

The land in the city of Nanjing in Jiangsu province will be used to develop "high-quality apartments, recreational facilities, offices and commercial units", the firm said yesterday.

Yanlord offered 7.84 billion yuan (S$1.63 billion) at an auction for the prime site, which is in the Sino-Singapore Nanjing Eco Hi-Tech Island.

It is well connected by key thoroughfares and the adjacent No. 10 metro line station and the upcoming No. 4 line station.

"This latest acquisition opens a new chapter in Yanlord's history of residential and commercial development within Nanjing City and builds on our extensive track record of developing quality residences which Nanjing citizens have grown to trust and support," said chairman and chief executive Zhong Sheng Jian.

The riverfront site will comprise about 268,000 sq m gross floor area of residential development and around 273,000 sq m gross floor area of commercial, hotel, office and tourism space.

The China-based developer added that the plot offers an unobstructed view of the Yangtze River and is near the Youth Olympic commercial district and Yanlord's existing Oasis New Island Gardens project.

Mr Zhong added: "With its excellent location and connectivity, this site will benefit from the maturing suite of amenities and provides a unique opportunity for Yanlord to augment our existing initiatives within the Nanjing market to further expand our prime development landbank within the core regions of Nanjing city."

Yanlord has a presence in 11 high-growth cities in China, including Shanghai, Suzhou, Chengdu, Tianjin, Tangshan, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Sanya.

It entered the Chinese market in 1993 and was listed on the Singapore Exchange in June 2006.

The developer remains confident about the long-term development of the Chinese real estate market and demand for high-quality residential developments.

Last month, the firm said it sold all of the 214 apartment units launched at its Yanlord Yangtze Riverbay Town in Nanjing at an average price of about 45,000 yuan per sq m during the first day of sales.