A landmark one square kilometre “smart business district” in Shanghai will use NFC as part of a strategy to network every office, hotel, apartment block, shopping mall and residential property within the area when construction is complete in 2017.

The business zone planned for the city’s Zhabei district is to be built by Chinese commercial real estate developer B M Holding Group, with technology provided by NXP Semiconductors and IT service provider Digital China Holdings.

The development will use NFC, smart furniture, community illumination, resource control, safety monitoring and other technologies throughout to create “a new, secure Internet of Things (IoT) experience and a ‘smarter world’ for its residents”, the companies say.

“NXP’s secure connected wireless internet of things solutions are supporting the creation of smart commercial developments,” says B M Holding executive director and president Yongjian Sun.

“This high-quality commercial district will be a landmark complex within the center of Shanghai, providing investment value to the business community and driving local economic development.”

“Together with NXP’s world-leading IoT solutions and our building control, integrated systems, cloud computing, mobile connectivity and practical IoT management, we will achieve true integrated innovation,” says Digital China’s Fangping Li.