(Yicai Global) June 11 -- Workers at Beijing Homelink Real Estate Brokerage, one of China's biggest property agencies and better known as Lianjia, are not aware of their firm's chairman being in talks to buy Pacific Century Place, a retail and office complex in Beijing.

Nobody in the company has heard that this is the case, Cailian Press reported today, citing the head of Lianjia Market Center. Bloomberg reported on June 8 that founder-chairman Zuo Hui was in advanced talks with Gaw Capital Partners to buy the property for CNY10 billion (USD1.6 billion), citing people with knowledge of the matter.

The report did not specify that Lianjia was the company involved in the deal, and noted that Zuo runs other property investment and management companies.

Gaw Capital bought Pacific Century Place in April 2014 from Pacific Century Premium Developments, which is run by Richard Li, the son of renowned Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing. The property, based in popular Beijing shopping and dining area Sanlitun, covers nearly 170,000 square meters and contains a shopping mall, luxury residential buildings and two office blocks.

Editor: James Boynton