3.3 billion, Pinduoduo has bought another building

Latest market news: Pinduoduo invested 3.3 billion yuan to acquire the entire property of the DBS Bank Tower in Lujiazui, Shanghai. This transaction has set a new record for the highest single transaction value in Shanghai's large-scale commercial property market in 2026.

The DBS Bank Tower in Lujiazui is located in the prime waterfront area along the Huangpu River in Shanghai. It is a 19-story Grade A office building with a gross floor area of approximately 46,000 square meters, and its address is "1318 Lujiazui Ring Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai". Based on the transaction consideration, the total price of 3.3 billion yuan corresponds to a unit price of approximately 71,700 yuan per square meter for the above-ground office space, which is in line with the current market valuation of Grade A office buildings in the core Lujiazui waterfront area.

Image source: Internet

Industry insiders speculate that in the future, the DBS Bank Tower will be renamed the "Xinpinmu Tower", serving as the core office hub for Temu's global operations and Xinpinmu's global self-operated brand. It will centrally host functions including cross-border supply chain management, overseas compliance, international finance and taxation, cross-border payment, and global brand recruitment, consolidating the cross-border business teams previously scattered across multiple locations to achieve headquarters-level strong control over global operations.

In fact, Pinduoduo's Temu merchant recruitment and logistics teams had already moved into the DBS Bank Tower as early as November 2025. In February 2026, Pinduoduo officially registered "Shanghai Xinpinmu Pudong E-Commerce Co., Ltd." in Pudong, with a registered capital of 5 billion yuan. Its registered address is Unit 501, 1318 Lujiazui Ring Road, China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone — precisely the 5th floor of the DBS Bank Tower.

Image source: Tianyancha

In terms of location selection, as the core window for China's financial opening-up, Lujiazui hosts the China headquarters of almost all foreign-funded banks, leading cross-border law firms, import and export service agencies, international payment and settlement platforms, and a large number of cross-border trade service providers. For Temu and Xinpinmu, which are accelerating their global expansion, a wide range of core external collaborations — from cross-border fund settlement and overseas compliance filing to international business negotiations and supply chain finance docking — can all be completed within the Lujiazui area. Its high concentration of industrial supporting resources is irreplaceable by other industrial parks and business districts in Shanghai.

It is worth noting that this is not Pinduoduo's first property acquisition. In the past month, Pinduoduo has successively purchased two entire office buildings in Xiong'an and Shanghai's Lujiazui, spending a total of about 3.6 billion yuan, all paid with its own funds.

Previously, Pinduoduo had always adopted an "asset-light" office strategy, with all its properties including its headquarters Jin Hongqiao International Center, Yifeng Center, Crystal Sky Hongqiao, and the DBS Bank Tower being used under lease agreements. However, entering 2026, Pinduoduo is changing this strategy.

From a financial perspective, the expenditure from the two property acquisitions barely places any burden on Pinduoduo. As of the first quarter of 2026, Pinduoduo's cash and cash equivalents plus short-term investments totaled over 430 billion yuan, meaning the investment proportion of 3.6 billion yuan in real estate is less than 1%.

In terms of timing, Shanghai's commercial office market was at the bottom of its cycle in 2026. Rents for Grade A office buildings in core areas have dropped by more than 15% cumulatively from their peak, with valuations also at a recent low; meanwhile, the vacancy rate has started to decline, confirming the market's bottom. Entering the market at this point constitutes a strategic purchase of scarce core assets at a favorable price.

Institutional data shows that in the first half of 2026, the total transaction value of large-scale commercial office properties in Shanghai rose by 47% year-on-year. Among this, the transaction volume of industrial buyers for self-use purposes has increased to 50%, replacing previous financial investors and becoming the core growth driver of the market. Some internet and technology enterprises are returning to the central business districts (CBDs).

This article is from the WeChat public account "Future Habitat", author: Xiaowu Jian Dawu, published with authorization from 36Kr.