(Yicai) Jan. 8 -- Four five-star hotels along the banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai have been sold in the past four months as a result of their owners’ financial difficulties.

The Bulgari Hotel Shanghai is now owned by Jiangsu Jinfeng Cement Group, which bought it from state-owned property developer Overseas Chinese Town Asia Holdings on Dec. 26 with a winning bid of CNY2.4 billion (USD335.3 million), including value-added tax. Jinfeng Cement bought two hotels in the city for more than CNY4 billion last year.

The cheapest rooms at the Bulgari Hotel Shanghai go for CNY6,700 (USD940) a night on weekdays, while the most expensive costs over CNY120,000 (USD16,800), data from travel agency Ctrip showed. The hotel was listed for sale on the China Beijing Equity Exchange, a platform for the transfer of state assets, last September.

State-owned OCT had a net loss of CNY2 billion in the third quarter of last year, according to its latest earnings report. It lost CNY10.9 billion (USD1.5 billion) in 2022.

Under financial strain, some developers have been looking to offload large assets in recent years, a hotel owner in Shanghai's Hongqiao business district told Yicai. However, due to the pandemic and other factors, prices of hotel assets have failed to meet expectations, but they are now back on the radar screens of potential buyers, the person added.

Wanda Reign, located on the Bund in Shanghai, was acquired by Beijing Yinglang Commercial Management from Zhuhai Dalian Wanda Commercial Management on Dec. 25 for an undisclosed amount. A river-view room there costs more than CNY3,000 a night. 

Wanda Commercial, the debt-laden commercial property management unit of Chinese real estate giant Dalian Wanda Group, sold a number of Wanda Plazas last year due to financial constraints. Beijing Yinglang is part of Rochester Gas and Electric, a conglomerate focused on developing renewable resources.

Shanghai commercial real estate market saw 115 en-bloc transactions last year, with a total value of CNY80.6 billion, and the value of hotel-related transactions accounted for 11 percent, according to recent data from Cushman & Wakefield. Buyers will likely continue to pursue opportunities this year, keeping the market hot.

The Marriott Hotel in the city’s Huangpu district was also sold for nearly CNY1.5 billion last month.

On Sept. 20, the Shanghai Financial Court auctioned the Sheraton Shanghai Hotel because of shareholder debt problems, with an appraisal price of CNY2.4 billion. Shanghai Yuzi Commercial Management, a cement maker with shareholders from Jiangsu Jinfeng Holding Group, won the bidding with a starting price of CNY1.6 billion.

Located in Hongkou district, the Sheraton Shanghai Hotel has 471 rooms, with the price of a 45-square-meter standard room at around CNY1,000 per night. The controlling shareholder of Anxin Trust, which has been struggling financially since 2018, was its original owner.

Editors: Shi Yi, Martin Kadiev