HOPSON Development Holdings Ltd, the Chinese builder controlled by billionaire Zhu Mengyi, said yesterday that first-half profit fell four percent because new government rules forced delays and redesigns.
Net income declined to HK$419.3 million (US$54 million), or 33 Hong Kong cents a share, compared with HK$437 million, or 36 Hong Long cents, a year earlier, Hopson said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing. Sales slid 30 percent to HK$1.42 billion.
Hopson delayed and altered plans for projects in Beijing, Guangzhou and Tianjin to meet new government requirements, the statement said. China issued new rules for builders' land purchases and financing as part of efforts to halt property speculation and prevent a real estate bubble, Bloomberg News reported.
The developer is "optimistic" about the market and its own performance in the second half, when it plans to start sales of four projects in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Ningbo, Zhu said in yesterday's statement.
The company will also book HK$6.09 billion of completed real estate sales in the second half, he said.