Shui On Land Ltd, the Shanghai-based real estate developer, plans to double its land bank in China over the next three years, Chairman Vincent Lo said yesterday.

Hong Kong-listed Shui On now has 12.3 million square meters of developable land in China, Lo said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Singapore. The developer aims to expand in areas including Wuhan and Chongqing cities and the southwestern provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan, he said.

Shui On, which first sold shares to the public in Hong Kong in October, has been expanding outside of Shanghai. The company announced in May that it will invest in a software park in the northeastern city of Dalian.

"Most of the cities in China are undergoing major economic transformation," Lo said. "We are targeting regional centers."

Chinese property companies have raised US$3.9 billion in Hong Kong initial public offerings this year as housing prices in China posted the fastest increase in almost two years. Rising household incomes, combined with borrowing costs that have failed to keep pace with inflation, are driving prices higher.

Shui On's shares fell two percent to 7.85 HK dollars (US$1.01) in Hong Kong yesterday. The stock has gained 16 percent this year, lagging behind a 20 percent increase in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

(Shanghai Daily September 11, 2007)