Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    SHENZHEN’S Qianhai economic zone is planning to auction four parcels of land next month totaling 74,300 square meters, with the largest one expected to be sold to Internet giant Tencent Holdings as the zone seeks quick recognition by attracting prominent companies to its territory.

    The four land lots, with a total base price of 5.7 billion yuan (US$925.32 million) for erecting office buildings, will be sold May 22, the Qinahai authority said yesterday.

    Last year, Qianhai auctioned six parcels of land totaling 2.55 million square meters for 40.7 billion yuan. This time, with stringent test restrictions on bidders regarding their industries, capitalization, revenue and even business relationships with global companies, speculation that Qianhai intends to sell them only to certain companies it desires is rampant.

    Bidders for the largest parcel of land to be auctioned next month, which measures 24,948 square meters, are required to be listed Internet companies with realized revenue of more than 40 billion yuan in the past year. Once completed, the office buildings on the land will only be for the purchaser’s own use.

    Tencent raked in 60.44 billion yuan in revenue last year, while the total revenue of its three major rivals — Sina.com, Sohu.com and Netease — is less than 40 billion yuan.

    Tencent has promised to invest at least 10 billion yuan in Qianhai to tap the country’s testing ground for more liberal financial policies. It has set up six firms, including two e-commerce and Internet finance companies, in Qianhai and has applied to set up a bank there.

    The other three land lots are designed to be sold to a private equity firm, an e-commerce firm and a foreign-invested company, according to the Qianhai statement.