Sino Ocean tipped to net 200m yuan
COSCO International Holdings (0517) deputy managing director Lin Libing forecast the full-year profit of the company's mainland property business, Sino Ocean Real Estate Development, will not be less than 200 million yuan (HK$196.9 million), following satisfactory sales in the first half. Sino Ocean Real Estate Development reported a net profit of 164 million yuan for the six months ended June 30, boosted by revaluation gains on investment properties. In the first half, Sino sold 320,000 square meters of property, of which 4,000 apartments will be booked in the second half, ensuring that full 2006 net profit should not be less than last year's 200 million yuan, Lin said Thursday after a COSCO extraordinary general meeting. Market watchers have been saying that Sino Ocean plans to establish a real estate investment trust with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as sponsors. However, COSCO managing director Liang Yanfeng declined comment, saying only that Sino Ocean "will have its own arrangements, based on its development strategies." Sino Ocean, which COSCO jointly holds with SinoChem Group, had a land bank of about six million square meters as of September 30. At Thursday's meeting, COSCO shareholders approved a proposal to raise the company's stake in Beijing- based Sino Ocean to 44 percent from 20 percent for about 395 million yuan. COSCO International had reported a 73 percent drop in its first-half net profit to HK$99.77 million, due to lower property revaluation gains. The company's shares closed Thursday at HK$2.74, up 9 HK cents.
