Mainland developers are adopting a more flexible pricing strategy and construction schedule for the second half of the year amid concern the central government may introduce more austerity measures to curb soaring home prices. 'In the second half, we will continue our flexible marketing and pricing strategy according to the specific conditions of individual markets,' said Jason Hui Sai-tan, a vice-chairman and executive director of Shimao Property Holdings. As of the end of last month, Shimao had achieved 44 per cent of its 30 billion yuan (HK$34.32 billion) annual sales target. The company plans to launch more new projects in the coming months. Hui did not elaborate whether the company would offer discounts to drum up sales, saying the pricing strategy would vary from city to city. Last month, sales rose 13 per cent on the month to 2 billion yuan. 'This indicates the appetite for buying homes has returned and the market has digested the impact of the austerity measures introduced in April,' Hui said. Yesterday, Shimao reported underlying profit rose 425 per cent to 1.57 billion yuan for the six months to June. It will pay a dividend of 15 HK cents per share, up 50 per cent from a year earlier. As of July 31, Shimao's contracted sales amounted to 13.3 billion yuan. About 1.18 million square metres were sold at an average of 11,281 yuan per square metre. To take advantage of lower land prices, the company spent 15.65 billion yuan in the first half to add 6.61 million sq metres to its land bank. 'It is hard to predict the government's future policy vis-a-vis the real estate market. But our strong cash position will allow us to maximise our growth in the future whenever the opportunities arise,' chairman Hui Wing-mau said. The firm had 9.3 billion yuan cash on hand as of June. In response to growing market uncertainties, Greentown China Holdings, however, decided to lower its building target from 11 million sq metres to 9.6 million sq metres. Chief executive Shou Bainian said the company's contracted sales figure stood at 39.3 billion yuan as of August 20. It would not be easy to meet the annual sales target of 67 billion yuan, he added. The company had decided to build less floor area and adopt more caution in land acquisition, Shou said. For the six months to June, Greentown's profit rose 2.6 per cent to 331.71 million yuan. The company will pay an interim dividend of 10 fen per share. Meanwhile, Guangdong-based Country Garden Holdings said it was on track to meet its sales target of 30 billion yuan this year. Seven projects totalling 4 million sq metres will be put on sale in the second half, it said. Country Garden saw its earnings fall 4.8 per cent to 1.76 billion yuan for the six months to June. Turnover rose 27.8 per cent to 11.76 billion yuan. No interim dividend was announced. The company's net gearing ratio dropped to 48.1 per cent from 52.7 per cent in the same period last year. Beijing Capital Land said its net profit rose 30.8 per cent to 321.18 million yuan in the first half. No dividend will be paid. At Sinolink Worldwide Holdings, net profit edged up 3.1 per cent from a year earlier to HK$513 million for the six months to June. It did not announce any dividend either. Keeping trend Mainland property firms will build less in view of the market uncertainty Shimao Property Holdings is aiming for sales of 30 billion yuan this year. By last month, its targeted level had reached: 44%