Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd posts strong results for 2017

Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd, said to be the largest residential property developer in the world, posted strong results for 2017 on Tuesday as the Foshan-headquartered developer continued to capitalize on China's rapid urbanization.

Contracted sales achieved by the group together with its joint ventures and associates jumped 78.3 percent from 2016 to 550.8 billion yuan (US$87 billion) last year, the company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday. By gross floor area, they rose 61.9 percent year on year to 60.66 million square meters, it added.

Total revenue for the 12-month period ending in December 2017 surged 48.2 percent to 226.9 billion yuan, and revenue from property development grew 48.6 percent from 2016 to 220.16 billion yuan.

Profit attributable to shareholders surged 126.3 percent year on year to 26.06 billion yuan, according to the developer, which at the end of 2017, boasted 1,468 projects in 220 cities and 30 provinces in the Chinese mainland.

Founded in Shunde, Guangdong Province in 1992, the developer has also ventured into property leasing with major financial institutions in response to a central government vow to develop rental homes to meet various housing needs of the people.

The company has nearly 3,000 rental apartments under construction in first and second-tier cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan and Xiamen, according to the filing.