Times China pledges compliance to 'three red lines'

Mainland developer Times China (1233) has pledged to meet Beijing's “three red lines” and bring its asset-liability ratio below 70 percent by the end of next year.

The developer's asset-liability ratio decreased by 2 percentage points to 76.6 percent in the first half of 2021.

Chairman, chief executive and executive director Shum Chiuhung said the company had reached 41 percent of its 110-billion-yuan sales target for 2021, and he was confident of meeting it.

He expected land and flat prices would remain stable in the coming half with the implementation of various price control measures.

The sporadic Covid outbreak in China had not affected property deliveries, he added.

The developer's first-half net profit rose 6 percent to 1.63 billion yuan (HK$1.96 billion) with no interim dividend declared.

Revenue for the period dropped 8.6 percent to 13.64 billion yuan, while contracted sales surged 39.3 percent to 45.38 billion yuan.

Earnings per share were 84 fens, and the sales of properties decreased by 25.2 percent to 11 billion yuan, mainly due to the decrease of the area of properties delivered.

Times China had total land reserves of approximately 21.7 million sq m as of June 30, which it believes would be sufficient to support its development needs for the next three

years.

In addition to the 70 percent ceiling, Beijing's "three red lines" set last year include a 100 percent cap on net debt to equity, and cash to cover short-term borrowing.