5:00 PM Hong Kong, China – Stocks in China fell but in Hong Kong rallied near close. Land acquisitions almost quadruple in Shanghai in August. Ping An plans to consolidate its banking arm. GM’s China units register a record sale in August.

More mainland China stocks fell than rose as the indexes closed marginally lower. Hong Kong stocks which traded nearly unchanged for most of the day gained at the end to close higher.

The Hang Seng Index rose 0.49% or 102.58 to close at 20,971.50. The CSI 300 Index in China lost 0.04% or 1.19 to close at 2,920.21.

China plans to conduct research on the vacancy rate of houses in some cities as part of an effort to collect information and improve methodology for drafting future policies, a senior government official said Thursday.

The National Bureau of Statistics plans to launch investigations on vacant houses in some residential communities in selected cities, Ma Jiantang head of the bureau told an industry seminar Thursday, without giving further details.

Land acquisitions almost quadrupled in Shanghai in August as real estate developers expanded their land banks in a little less overheated market. A total of 24 parcels, covering 1.2 million square meters, were sold in the city in August, compared with nine plots, covering 320,000 square meters in July, according to property information portal Soufun.com.

The existing house index in Shanghai fell in August for the third straight month, but was found recovering buyer momentum increasing.

The index, which monitors price of existing homes across the city, lost 8 points, or 0.31% to 2,543 in August, according to Shanghai Existing House Index office said.

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, China’s second-biggest insurer, plans to pay 29.1 billion yuan for a controlling stake in Shenzhen Development Bank, a medium-sized lender, to consolidate its banking arm.

Ping An will pay 2.69 billion yuan in cash and hand over control of its banking unit, Ping An Bank, to Shenzhen Development in exchange for a 22.4% stake. The insurer will raise its stake to 52.39% while Shenzhen Development will hold 90.75% of Ping An Bank after the deal.

The Chinese section of the Russia-China oil pipeline is due for completion by the end of October, officials said Thursday.

According to the agreement signed between China and Russia, 500,000 tons of crude would be pumped through the pipeline in November and a million tons in December. The Russian section was completed and opened on Sunday.

General Motors and its joint ventures in China sold a record 181,625 vehicles in August, up 19.2% from a year ago.

Sales at Shanghai GM rose 28.1% year-on-year to 81,063 units in August, helped by strong demand for Chevrolet units including the New Sail small car and Cruze Sedan. Sales of Chevrolet models jumped 33.5% from a year ago to 38,482.

The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen plans to invest 40 billion yuan in Qianhai area on the Pearl River delta, according to a report in the Securities Times, citing local government.

The investment to cover 15 square kilometer area of the city will be made over the next three years, the Shenzhen-based newspaper said. The government is considering the option of a low tax regime as in Hong Kong, also allowing free convertibility of yuan in the area according to the report.