Troubled Chinese Developer Says Sales Down Nearly 70% in 2014

Hong Kong-listed Hopson Development Holdings Limited (HKG:0754) announced on Monday that its contracted sales for the two months ended 28 February 2014 amounted to about RMB 471 million – a decrease of 69.6 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

During January and February of 2013 the Guangzhou-based developer achieved sales of approximately RMB 1.549 billion in the same period, representing transactions for 25,093 square meters of gross floor area.

Hopson had been in trouble even before Monday’s disclosure, with credit agency Moody’s last week circling the company as one of the Chinese real estate firms most in danger of defaulting on its obligations to creditors amidst the current credit crunch. Even in 2012, both Moody’s and its competitor Standard & Poor’s had already marked Hopson as a particular credit risk.

Perhaps, this existing skepticism regarding the company accounts for the 2.11 percent rise in its stock price during Tuesday’s trading.

Further details regarding Hopson’s financial status will be disclosed when the company releases its interim report for the first half of 2014.