(Yicai Global) June 7 -- A consortium led by Greenland Holdings, one of China's top real estate developers, has sold the Oyster Point project in San Francisco as it looks to fall in line with Beijing's plans to curb 'irrational' overseas investment.

The USD308-million transaction was a normal commercial operation, Shanghai-based Greenland said in a statement yesterday, confirming the sale to Los Angeles-based Kilroy Realty. The consortium, which also includes Ping An Trust and Agile Group Holding, bought the 40-acre plot for USD171 million in August 2016 and broke ground in October last year, with plans to build infrastructure for offices, new parks and public amenities.  

The sale is not the first of its kind for Greenland, which has sought to sell off a string of international properties bought on a four-year buying spree as the Chinese government looks to keep irrational outbound investment in check. It put two properties from a USD1-billion downtown LA project on the market in February, according to Asia real estate portal Mingtiandi. One of these was the Hotel Indigo, which it was looking to shift for USD280 million, or USD800,000 a room, less than a year after opening.

A host of Chinese firms have been hit by the crackdown, which began last year, after debt-fueled shopping binges around the world. Dalian Wanda Group, Fosun International and HNA Group have all found themselves on the government's hit list and scrambled to shed a glut of overseas properties in order to deleverage.

Editor: James Boynton