Mainland China property developer Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd. (HKG:3333) said Monday it is targeting contracted sales of CNY80 billion this year, adding the company has entered a "stable growth phase" following years of record growth.

Contracted sales include pre-sales of property developments.

Chairman Hui Ka-yan told a press conference that he expects the volume of property transactions in China to pick up in the second quarter after months of slow growth on the back of the country's tightening measures.
The Hong Kong-listed developer denied rumours that it is planning to cut 30% of its staff due to financial problems. It said that the company only plans to cut the forecast manpower growth by 30%, adding that it plans to add 5,000 more staff to its existing 33,000-strong workforce this year.

The developer recorded CNY80.39 billion of full-year sales for 2011, exceeding its target of CNY70 billion. But its monthly sales in both November and December dropped a whopping 80% from October, as the company said it didn't slash prices to attract sales amid the slowdown.