China Vanke's Dec sales surge

BEIJING - China Vanke Co, the country's biggest property developer, on Tuesday revealed strong December sales figures, as China's real estate market continued to warm up at the end of last year.

The company sold 1.17 million square meters of residential and commercial properties last month, generating revenue of 14.07 billion yuan ($2.2 billion), up 94.9 percent and 141.8 percent year-on-year, respectively, the company said in a monthly report filed to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The robust December sales brought the company's full-year sales revenue to 141.23 billion yuan, up 16.2 percent year-on-year, the company said.

Of the 12.96 million square meters of residential and commercial property it sold in 2012, 90 percent included small and medium-sized apartments, sales of which gained notable traction in the second half, the company said.

The surge in December sales was partly due to a lower comparative base from December 2011, when the company's sales plunged 36.3 percent from the previous year.

Tan Huajie, China Vanke's board secretary, said property sold last year in 14 major Chinese cities remained about 20 percent below the record set in 2009.

China's housing prices picked up in November, with the country's pro-growth measures boosting pent-up demand for housing despite property curbs that have been in place since 2009.

Other major property developers also saw strong sales in 2012, as the property market's growth rate became more rational, according to China Index Academy, a real estate research institute.

Poly Real Estate Group Co and Shanghai Greenland (Group) Co, two other major players in the sector, also saw revenues exceed 100 billion yuan in 2012, according to a report released Sunday by the institute.

Although transactions improved in the second half of 2012, the inventory levels of unsold new homes remained high in major cities, said Tan, adding that China Vanke will continue to focus on boosting sales in the future.

China Vanke has suspended trading on the Shenzhen bourse since Dec 26, saying the company is "planning important matters," according to its statement.

Shares of Poly Real Estate closed at 13.78 yuan per share on Tuesday, down 1.15 percent from Monday.

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