China Vanke says 2008 property sales fall 9 pct

Published: 05 Jan 2009 19:31:31 PST

SHANGHAI, Jan 6 - China Vanke Co <000002.SZ> <200002.SZ>, the country's biggest listed property developer, saw its real estate sales fall about 9 percent in 2008, it said on Tuesday, amid a weakening property market.

Vanke sold 5.57 million square metres of space in 2008, down 9.2 percent from 2007, while in value terms, sales fell 8.6 percent 47.87 billion yuan ($7.01 billion), it said without explanation in a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

In December alone, sales dropped 13.8 percent in terms of area from a year earlier to 661,000 square metres, while in value terms they fell 13.5 percent to 5.34 billion yuan, it said.

China's real estate market saw a steady decline in prices and sales volume throughout 2008, battered by an economic slowdown sparked by the global financial crisis. ($1 = 6.8312 yuan)