Long-term approach brings success
A prudent development strategy and the consistently high quality of its property projects throughout the mainland have earned property developer Agile Property Holdings trust from investors and homebuyers.
'We believe in modern management and stability. We have a well-qualified management team and work with long-term business partners,' says Peggie Wai, deputy general manager and company secretary of Agile and winner of this year's China Company Award.
'We have adopted a dynamic cost control system to ensure good profit margins. Through leveraging the fast-developing information technology, Agile strives to implement an electronic management platform and establish related operating systems.'
Agile is principally engaged in the development of large-scale comprehensive property projects, providing different premium-quality residences including apartments, serviced apartments and low-density residences. The group has an extensive presence in the businesses of hotel operations, property investment and property management.
A sound financial base and land bank give Agile the flexibility to withstand volatile market conditions and the capability to make the most of business opportunities when they arise. The group has 70 projects in 26 different mainland cities and districts. Its land bank has a total gross floor area of about 32.13 million square metres. 'It is sufficient for us to fulfil our development needs in the next eight to 10 years,' Wai says.
Agile has great flexibility in price setting, thanks to sensible land acquisitions, she notes. The average land cost was about 1,307 yuan (HK$1,600) per square metre, 12 per cent of the average selling price of the contracted sales of residential units in the first half of this year.
As of June 30, Agile's total cash and bank deposits were about 7.6 billion yuan, while undrawn borrowing facilities were approximately 1.9 billion yuan. The available credit limit granted by banks was approximately 2.24 billion yuan.
'The sound financial position and development prospects of Agile are widely [and] positively recognised by rating agencies,' Wai says.
'In April, Moody's Investors Service upgraded the credit rating on our group and its bonds to 'Ba2' with a 'stable' outlook, one of the best in the industry. We believe that by adopting multichannel financing, we can further improve our financial structure and strengthen our working capital. Agile can focus on enhancing its performance in property sales and development and seize various development opportunities in a timely manner to achieve better returns for shareholders.'
