COFCO Property to borrow RMB 1.58 bln for Beijing project

Aug. 12, 2009 (China Knowledge) - COFCO Property (Group) Co Ltd<000031> has announced that it plans to borrow RMB 1.58 billion from its parent, COFCO Ltd, to develop a project in Beijing, sources reported.

The project, which involves three pieces of land in Shunyi District, will have a floor area of 520,000 square meters and will consist of a hotel, a shopping mall and apartments. 

In August 2008, COFCO Property obtained an RMB 2.07-billion loan from COFCO Ltd, a leading firm in the agribusiness and food industry in China. The real estate developer paid back RMB 492 million last month.

On Aug. 10, 780-million non-tradable shares of COFCO Property, or 42.9% of the company's total shares, became tradable. Judging by the closing price of RMB 14.3 per share on Aug. 6, the 780 million shares are worth RMB 11.15 billion in total.

Reportedly, COFCO Property on Aug. 6 announced that it has taken over a 100% stake in each of two property firms that previously belonged to COFCO Ltd. One firm is located in Chengdu, Sichuan Province and the other one is located in Xiamen, Fujian Province.