China Vanke Co., the country's largest property developer by market value, said Wednesday its home sales rose 12.4 percent year-on-year to 121.54 billion yuan (19.3 billion U.S. dollars) in 2011 despite government tightening measures designed to cool down the property market.

The company sold 10.75 million square meters of floor space in 2011, up 19.8 percent from the previous year, Vanke said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange after Wednesday's trading ended.

"The market has changed drastically in the past year," said Tan Huajie, board secretary of Vanke.

"Even though a correction in the market inevitably affected our sales, Vanke will never slow its sales speed," Tan said.

Vanke's share price dropped 1.87 percent to 7.33 yuan per share at Wednesday's close amid the overall plummeting of share prices.

China undertook a series of tightening measures to rein in the runaway property market last year, including a third-home purchase ban and increased down payment requirements.

Source:china.org