ZHUJI, Zhejiang province: Jewelry and pearl firm Man Sang International said that it has reaped a revenue of HK$200 million by selling booths at the China Pearls and Jewellery City (CP&J City) in Zhuji of East China's Zhejiang province.

The company's chairman Cheng Chung-hing told reporters last week on the sidelines of the grand opening ceremony of phase one of CP&J City, a co-owned flagship project, that the newly-completed freshwater pearl wholesale center received satisfactory response in terms of leasing and selling of booths.

Covering 500,000 sq m, phase one of the project contains 2,380 booths and shops, with half of them for sale and the rest for rent.

"About 40 percent of the booths for rent have been leased out," Cheng said, adding that the average rents for standard, two-story and three-story booths are 50,000 yuan, 100,000 yuan and 150,000 yuan a year, respectively.

Meanwhile, more than 200 shops have been sold, cashing in about HK$200 million.

"We believe the whole CP&J City would be completed in six to eight years," Cheng said. He did not elaborate when the construction of phase two will kick off.

The total investment cost of the project is HK$3 billion. Among that, HK$300 million will be used to promote the project over the coming three years.

Cheng said the company and its partners have already poured in HK$300 million as the preliminary investment. Hong Kong-listed Man Sang shared 55 percent of the costs.

Man Sang now has HK$500 million cash in hand, which is enough to finance the development at the current stage, said Martin Pak, the company's group financial controller.

Cheng hoped to develop the CP&J City as a one-stop center for pearl wholesale and retail, pearl processing and a tourist attraction in Zhuji. The establishment is expected to be the largest of its kind on the mainland.

(HK Edition 04/21/2008 page1)