Evergrande overtakes Vanke in sales value

Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd overtook China Vanke Co in the first half of this year to become the country's largest property developer by sales value.

The Guangzhou-based company's revenue rose 13.3 percent to 42 billion yuan ($6.86 billion) in the first six months. Its net profit rose 15.8 percent to hit 6.5 billion yuan, about 1.4 times that of the China Vanke's.

China Vanke has long been China's largest developer by sales.

Evergrande's earnings rose after the company raised prices in April and sold the most properties, by area, among Chinese developers in the first half of the year, according to China Real Estate Information Corp, a property data and consulting firm.