(29 March 2017 – Hong Kong) China Aoyuan Property Group Limited (“Aoyuan” or the “Company”, Stock Code: 3883), a renowned property developer in China, is pleased to announce that the Company’s corporate credit rating has been upgraded to “B1” from “B2” by Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”), a global leader in credit ratings, with a “stable” outlook. 

 

According to Moody’s, the upgrade reflects Aoyuan’s growing scale and improved geographic diversity. Its contracted sales grew 69% year-on-year to RMB25.6 billion in 2016, which almost four times the RMB5.3 billion achieved by the Company in 2012. Moody’s also expects Aoyuan’s credit metrics will improve over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, the Company’s B1 rating also considers the strength of its management through previous down cycles, its adequate liquidity and access to offshore bank funding.

 

Aoyuan management commented, “In 2016, Aoyuan maintained its robust growth momentum and exceeded its full year contracted sales target by 51%. Meanwhile, Aoyuan continued to improve its financial strength with positive operating cash flow. As such, Aoyuan became the only PRC developer whose credit rating outlook was upgraded to “Positive” by the three major international rating agencies, namely Moody’s, S&P and Fitch Ratings, in 2016, and Fitch Ratings further upgraded its corporate credit rating to ‘BB-’ afterwards. Moody’s upgrade reaffirmed that Aoyuan’s development strategies, business model, profitability and financial management are well recognized by capital markets and general public. Looking forward, Aoyuan will strive to achieve rapid growth while maintaining its disciplined land acquisition and sound financial profile, thus delivering satisfactory returns to our shareholders and investors.”