Tammy Tang, head of business parks in China for JLL, tells GlobeSt.com that Zhongnan is a China domestic company involved in construction, construction material and computer animation. According to Tang, the buildings did go through a normal marketing program, however she points out that “it was very low profile,” adding that they were on the market for six months.

“The global financial crisis has prompted many companies to be more cost-conscious. Cost saving has been a clear objective, and focus has shifted from short-tem ‘survival’ to building resilience for medium-term to long-term growth,” says Stuart Ross, head of industrial with JLL in China. “The UTStarcom’s case is a prime example that companies are re-assessing their real estate strategies in order to make better use of their capital and focus more on their core businesses.”

Tang tells GlobeSt.com that the offer from Zhongnan was the first offer that UTStarcom received and “they took it.” As to why an investor might be interested, Tang says that “the appearance is very unique, they can use some space immediately and they would be interested for investment.”

For the Hangzhou city itself, Tang explains that the residential sector is the most dominated sector. For commercial properties, office development is “dominated by local developers and mostly strata titled sales.” She adds that industrial is a main component in the suburb area.