Socam to cash out China projects

Property developer and contractor Socam Development will aggressively cash in its mainland properties and pursue opportunities in Hong Kong's expanded building programme for public housing and infrastructure.

The company announced net profit declined 6.8 per cent to HK$848 million for last year from a year ago. Turnover rose 29 per cent to HK$7.92 billion.

Socam recommended a final dividend of 5 HK cents.

"Our strategy is speeding up our asset turnover. So we will be aggressively selling our properties once we get the right price," said chief executive Philip Wong.

The move would also help streamline business operations, he said. "Investors are confused by our operations as Socam is engaged in mainland property, construction and cement manufacturing. To a certain extent, our property business is overlapping with that of our parent, Shui On Land. To maximise the return of our shareholders, we will cash in our properties when opportunities arise," he said.

The firm plans to exit from the Lafarge Shui On Cement joint venture, to which Lafarge has also agreed.