Sino-Ocean Land Announces 2008 Interim Results

Sino-Ocean Land Holdings Limited announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June, 2008. The Group s revenue reached RMB 3.25 billion, representing a substantial increase of 78%, while its gross profit surged almost 180% to RMB 1.41 billion. The Group s gross profit margin was 43%, up 15 percentage points from the corresponding period of 2007.

Profit attributable to equity holders decreased to RMB 542 million, mainly due to a significant one-off gain of an after-tax profit of RMB 610 million from the disposal of a jointly controlled entity in the first half of 2007. The Board of Directors proposed an interim dividend of HK 3 cents per share.

Solid Financial Position

As at 30 June 2008, the Group s net debt to shareholders equity ratio was at a relatively low level of 35% while cash on hand amounted to RMB7.9 billion. Meanwhile, the Group was able to have unimpeded access to low cost finance despite the tight credit market condition. The Group could secure loans amounted to RMB 4.4 billion from January to May in the PRC and obtained a US$ 215 million syndicated loan overseas, demonstrating the confidence of the banking industry towards Sino-Ocean Land.

Mr. LI Ming, CEO of the Group, said, I am glad to see that besides achieving such impressive growth in revenue, the Group can maintain a healthy and sound financial position, which will enable us to avail ourselves of opportunities to acquire prime sites that will help consolidate our leading position in Beijing and the Pan-Bohai Rim.

We will also be flexible with our sales strategies to boost sales. In response to any change in the market, we will take prompt action to secure or even expand our customer base, for example, by adjusting the price to make our mid-range projects more competitive, or by making our high-end projects even more desirable to our customers with top of the class quality.

Premium Land Bank at Low Cost

As at 30 June 2008, the total GFA of the Group s land bank was 10.6 million sq. m., while GFA attributable to the Group was approximately 9.25 million sq. m., all of which are at prime locations like city centers or traffic hubs, with an attractive average cost of RMB 2,326/sq. m. The Group added 536,000 sq. m. of sites in Beijing and Zhongshan to its land bank in the first half of 2008.

Commenting on the Group s development plan in the second half of 2008, Mr. Li said, Driven by the forces of urbanization and rapid economic growth, the property market in China, we believe, still has huge growth potential in the medium to long term; moreover, the purchasing power of our potential homebuyers will gradually recover after the Olympic Games.

We are particularly confident of our long-term strategic development in Beijing and the Pan-Bohai Rim. It has always been our priority to ensure our operational efficiency, especially in asset turnover and cash flow management; and by adhering to our prudent financial management policy, we work to create the greatest value for our shareholders.