Country Garden takes 353rd place in Fortune Global 500

PETALING JAYA (July 20): China property developer Country Garden – the developer of Forest City and Country Garden Danga Bay in Johor – jumped to 353^rd place this year from 467^th place last year in the Fortune Global 500 rankings, underpinned by its 46% growth in gross revenue to RMB226.9 billion (RM135.79 billion) last year.

The developer had also leaped 130 places to the 143^rd spot in the annual Forbes Global 2000 list.

In a press release, the developer said being listed among the top companies in two authoritative global company rankings shows that its value and competitive strength are recognised by the market.

“At Country Garden, company chairman Yang Guoqiang has always emphasized that ‘quality and property management are our lifelines’, with every one of the 180,000 employees required to consider every detail of the company’s operations with the spirit of craftsmanship,” the statement read.

In the past decade, Country Garden has become the largest residential property developer in China, with sales surging to RMB550.8 billion (RM329.52 billion) last year from RMB17.5 billion (RM10.47 billion) in 2008.

The developer also achieved contracted sales of RMB412.5 billion (RM246.8 billion) in the first half of 2018, saying it significantly outpaced the market.

“Since its founding in 1992, Country Garden Holdings has evolved from a small Chinese residential property business with only one property in Shunde District, Foshan, a mid-sized city in Guangdong province, into a large international real estate developer with over 1,900 residential properties across the globe and property developments spanning over 700 cities and towns across China.

“Meanwhile, the developer has shifted its focus from the development of big residential properties in the suburbs of first- and second-tier Chinese cities to the development of premium residences at the heart of third- and fourth-tier Chinese cities, and, more recently, to the integration of cities and industries by developing tech-driven towns,” it said.