Shimao land sales up, prices down in 2008

Shimao Property said yesterday that its contracted sales rose 21.3 percent, year-on-year, in the first nine months of 2008. The contracted sales area amounted to 921,000 sq m, a jump of 43.4 percent year-on-year.

The figures showed that the average selling prices of the properties dropped from a year earlier.

Sales of properties in second-tier cities around Shanghai, such as Kunshan, Hangzhou and Changshu, contributed greatly, the Shanghai-based medium-sized property developer said in a statement.

"We are optimistic about achieving the annual sales target of 14 billion yuan this year," the statement said.

Tianjin pipelines to bring gas to development zone

Tianjin Tianlian Public Utilities Co, a mainland supplier of gas, will invest more than 200 million yuan to build two natural gas pipelines in its home city, a source briefed on the projects said yesterday.

The two pipelines in the northern port city of Tianjin will add 1 billion cu m of gas to Binhai, a development zone modeled on Shanghai's Pudong and housing multinationals from Airbus to Motorola, the source told Reuters.

The investment will be financed by the proceeds from a sale of new shares, he added.

China Water expansion to take another year

China Water Industry said yesterday that the current global financial crisis will make it hard to raise funds in the market, and thus, it may need one more year to meet its three-year target.

The company plans to increase its daily water output and waste-water treatment to 10 million tons and 2 million tons, respectively, by the end of 2009.

But the firm will continue to look for acquisitions and joint-venture opportunities, and it is now in talks on more than 10 deals, Managing Director Zhong Wensheng said.

China State Construction to cut spending

China State Construction International Holdings will be more cautious in selecting new investments and plans to cut capital spending this year as the global financial crisis weighs, a senior executive said yesterday.

But the financial storm, which has put the brakes on global economic growth and shattered credit and equities markets around the world, will have a limited long-term impact on the firm's core business, said Sammy Zhou, vice chairman and chief executive officer of the company.

The builder, which focuses on government construction projects outside the mainland, expects to generate 30 percent more new contracts by value this year, from HK$11.1 billion in 2007, he added.

China Daily - Reuters

(HK Edition 10/09/2008 page2)