More than 22 billion yuan (HK$20.68 billion) in ``hot money'' from overseas entered Shanghai's property market last year, Xinhua News Agency said, citing a People's Bank of China report.

It said steadily rising property prices and expectations of a yuan appreciation have attracted overseas speculative funds into Shanghai's property market.

About 15 billion yuan in overseas funds was invested in property development projects and another seven billion yuan was used to buy apartments and houses, according to the report.

Analysts and property agents have said speculators betting on a yuan revaluation had been causing property prices in Shanghai to rise rapidly.

But local Shanghai residents re-mained the major force in homebuying, with non-Shanghai residents and foreigners making up only about 20 percent of homebuyers in the city, the report said.

Total investment in Shanghai's property sector rose 30 percent last year to 117.6 billion yuan.

Shanghai's average house price rose 15.8 percent last year, while prices in downtown Shanghai rose an average 27.5 percent, the report said.

Concerned about the rapid rise in prices and the financial risks should the market collapse, the central government has introduced policies to curb speculation, ordering local governments to make controlling property prices a top priority.

Shanghai has said it will ban trans-fers of houses with uncovered mortgage loans starting June 1.

In March, Shanghai became the first city in China to enact a capital gains tax on property sales. It now charges a 5.5 percent tax on a transaction that is executed less than a year after the property was last sold. DOW JONES NEWSWIRES