Chinese developer denies closing down rumor

A major Chinese property developer has refuted allegations that it is on the brink of collapse amid widespread pessimism about the industry because of weak sales.

The Guang Real Estate Group, based in Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, admitted in a Wednesday statement that the company failed to deliver some projects to homebuyers on time due to financial pressures, but still has good access to finance.

"We're confident in pulling through this hard time," said the company, one of the country's top 100 property developers.

It said buyers of unfinished houses in Guangdong's Huizhou City have been informed when the homes will be completed. The company has come up with compensation plans for the delay.

In addition, the company said its luxury projects, named "Birds Resorts", are expected to go on sale in Huizhou, Dongguan and Weihai cities in the "near future".

Media reports have revealed the developer failed to deliver projects on time and that some properties had been secretly pledged to builders and material suppliers because of a lack of cash.

The group was blacklisted by the Supreme People's Court twice for "violating property reporting rules" in January.

Founded in 2002, the company had developed more than 4 million square meters of housing and employed 2,300 people by the end of 2012.

The disappointing performance of the property market this year has generated widespread worries over the industry.

Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed nationwide the total area of property sold in the first quarter edged down 3.8 percent year on year, and sales revenue dropped 5.2 percent year on year.

According to statistics from Homelink, one of China's largest real estate agencies, residential housing sales dropped 18.4 percent month on month in April, down 18.1 percent from a year ago.