Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am from COLI, Corporate Communications Department, Wu Yi. Welcome to COLI's 2021 interim results analyst video conference. In this presentation, our management is dialing in from Hong Kong and Shenzhen for communication with you. Let me introduce to you the management in Hong Kong and Shenzhen head office. In attendance today are Chairman of COLI, Yan Jianguo. Vice Chairman, Executive Vice President, COO, and Chief Architect, Luo Liang. CEO, Zhang Zhichao. Vice President, Guo Guanghui. CFO, Eddie Lui. There are two parts in today's presentation. First, Mr. Guo will take you through the 2021 interim results, followed by a Q&A session. Through the telephone or online, you can ask questions. Let me pass the floor to Mr. Guo to present our results.
Dear analysts and friends from the investment community, good afternoon.
I am now going to present to you COLI's 2021 interim results. The presentation comes in three parts. First, we review our interim results highlights and management review in the first half of 2021. We will walk through the group's outlook and strategies for the second half of the year. First of all, we present to you a summary of the group's 2021 interim results. In the first half of 2021, the take-up rates of COVID-19 vaccination continued to rise. The global economy rebounded rapidly, with the accelerating growth of mainland China's economy particularly noteworthy. A series of policy measures have been introduced based on the principle of houses are for living in, not for speculation, causing the market to cool down and market divergence to continue. The group maintained quality growth in various aspects. Highlights include the following. First, contracted sales, revenue, and revenue from commercial properties achieved rapid growth.
In the first half of the year, contracted sales rose 20.5% year-on-year to RMB 207.2 billion. Revenue rose 21.7% to RMB 107.9 billion. Revenue from commercial properties rose 23.3% year-on-year to RMB 2.5 billion. Second, the group achieved double-digit growth in core net profit, maintained leading position in value creation. In the first half, core profit attributable to shareholders rose 10.9% year-on-year to RMB 19.23 billion. Net profit margin attributable to shareholders continued to lead the industry. Third, the group maintained financial stability with net gearing at 33.8%, average borrowing cost at 3.6%, and cash on hand of RMB 117.4 billion. Under the current situation where financial supervision on real estate industry remains tight, the group showed its financial strength for stable and sustainable growth. The second part reviews the business and operations in first half 2021.
In terms of contracted sales, the group series of companies achieved contracted sales revenue of RMB 207.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 20.5%. Average selling price was RMB 19,700 per square meter, or RMB 22,400 per square meter excluding COGO. The group's performance ranks high in the industry. In terms of cash collection, we improved loan collection efficiency through deeper cooperation with banks. Cash collection of the group series of companies reached RMB 179.7 billion, with year-on-year increase of 24.3%, and cash collection rates at 86.7%. The group adheres to the development strategy of focusing on major cities to ensure quality operation. Market share in sales amounts of major cities continued to grow. In the first half, the group series of companies market share ranked top three in 24 cities.
Contracted sales of the group in three metropolitan areas, Greater Bay Area, Yangtze River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, accounted for 45.6% of the total amounts. Contracted sales exceeded RMB 20 billion in Beijing and RMB 10 billion in Guangzhou. In terms of land investment in the first half, the land market saw fierce competition among some of the most popular cities. The company adhered to a strategy and pursued disciplined investments, and thus its overall return on land investment was satisfactory. In the first half, group series of companies' new total land premium reached RMB 77.8 billion, corresponding to a total saleable resources of RMB 174.6 billion. After including the company's non-public project transactions, newly added total saleable resources exceeded RMB 210 billion, which facilitated sustainable development.
The group had acquired 20 land parcels with a total land premium of RMB 51.3 billion, attributable land premium of RMB 45.8 billion, and newly added saleable resources of RMB 110.5 billion. The group adhered to investment strategy of major cities, mainstream areas, and mainstream products. Among the newly acquired land parcels, total land premium of the three metropolitan areas accounted for RMB 24.1 billion, or 47%. Saleable resources accounted for RMB 57.5 billion or 52%. The group continued to strengthen blue ocean strategy through active expansion in non-public part markets in order to acquire quality land through multiple channels. In the first half, the group successfully obtained Suzhou Zhonghai Project, Suzhou Super Skyscraper Project, and Changchun Ruinda Project. We also won the bid for Pre-project Service Provider of Urban Renewal Project in South Longgang, Shenzhen.
In terms of scale and composition of land bank, as at the end of June 2021, the group series of companies' total land bank was 92.24 million sq m. The corresponding saleable resources was RMB 1,500 billion. Among which, group series of companies' land bank, excluding COGO, was 59.4 million sq m. Attributable land bank was 49.85 million sq m. The group's quality land bank focused on core assets in major cities. The group series of companies, excluding COGO, total saleable resources in first-tier cities, including Hong Kong and Macau, accounted for RMB 470.6 billion or 40.1%. Total saleable resources in the three metropolitan areas accounted for RMB 713.8 billion or 60.7%. Hong Kong, where the company was founded, is an important and significant international market. The group will maintain rational and progressive land acquisition for sustainable developments in Hong Kong.
Currently, the group hosts seven projects in Hong Kong and Macau with total attributable GFA of 2.06 million sq ft, attributable saleable resources of HKD 42 billion and corresponding saleable resources of HKD 128.8 billion. Among the projects, One Victoria launched sales in early July and achieved market success. As of 17 August, sales hit 504 units and contracted sales revenue reached HKD 5.78 billion. In terms of profitability, the group maintained industry-leading profit margin. In the first half of 2021, GP margin was 28.5%. Core net profit margin attributable to shareholders was 17.8%, maintaining industry leadership in value creation. The company constantly improved delicacy, specialization and digitalization management, achieved industry leadership in cost control. In the first half, selling general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue was 3.3%, maintaining a low level in the industry. Average borrowing cost was 3.6%, in the lowest range in the industry.
In terms of financial position, the group upheld its robust financial position, maintained low liability to asset ratio and optimal net debt structure, was in compliance with three red lines, so as to support its development as well as stable and enduring growth. As at the end of June 2021, the liability to asset ratio was 60.2% and net gearing was 33.8%, maintained at a relatively low level in the industry. Interest-bearing debt was RMB 228.5 billion, in which RMB interest-bearing debt as a percentage of total was 57.3%. Debt maturing within one year was 19.8%, showing limited repayment pressure and optimal debt structure. Cash on hand was RMB 117.4 billion, which was well capitalized to capture market opportunities. Meanwhile, the group maintained the highest credit rating in the industry and leading financing advantages.
In the first half of 2021, the group issued products such as MTN and the first ever domestic green carbon neutrality CMBS in China, accounted for RMB 7.6 billion, of which the issuing rates of multiple finance transactions was the lowest among similar products over the past five years. In terms of unbooked pre-sale, as at the end of June 2021, group series of companies unbooked pre-sales was RMB 340.9 billion, an increase by 9.6% from 2020 year-end. Group series of companies excluding COGO attributable unbooked pre-sales was RMB 193.9 billion, increased by 4.5% from 2020 year-end. Unbooked pre-sales will be booked gradually, bringing positive impact to secure the revenue and profits of the group. In the first half of 2021, the group achieved rapid growth in commercial revenue and continuous scale expansion. Commercial revenue increased 23.3% year-on-year to RMB 2.5 billion.
In 2021, group series of companies prepares to launch a total of 21 new projects with total GFA of 1.01 million sq m, which accounts for 20% of current projects in operation. Six projects accounting for 180,000 sq m have been launched in the first half of 2021, and the remaining 15 projects accounting for 830,000 square meters will be launched during the second half. The company owned ample commercial projects under construction to support fast commercial revenue growth. Group series of companies have 50 projects under construction with total GFA of 3.24 million sq m, accounting for 64.5% of projects in operation. For the next step, the company will increase focus on shopping malls, facilitating business in offices and shopping malls to achieve quality and rapid growth in commercial revenue.
As for different types of businesses, scale of office business is among the top in the industry in the first half of 2021. Revenue rose 14% year-on-year to RMB 1.74 billion and occupancy rates reached 88.4%. Shopping malls development is rapid. In the first half of the year, revenue rose 31% year-on-year to RMB 520 million and occupancy rate as at the end of the period remained high at 96.6%. The group achieved or adhered to the development framework of being a company of Four Excellences, adding 48 new green certified projects with certified GFA of 8.01 million square meters. As of the end of June 2021, the group has accumulated 439 certifications with a cumulative GFA of 80.8 million sq m. The group ranked first among Green Credit Index of Chinese Real Estate Enterprises top 50 and 2020 China green real estate companies.
The company continued to obtain higher rating and sustainability. It was included in the Hang Seng ESG 50 Index and for 11 consecutive years included in the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index series. Its performance was recognized as three-star by Global Real Estate Standards, rated BB by MSCI ESG Ratings and received the lowest risk rating of ESG performance. Meanwhile, the group promoted green finance during the year, commenced climate change movement efforts, established Corporate Governance Committee at the board level to strengthen ESG governance and continued to enhance ESG data disclosure. The third part introduces the outlook and strategy. In the second half of 2021, real estate policies is expected to adhere to the principle of houses are for living in, not for speculation. Stabilize land prices, housing prices, and expectation so as to facilitate steady and healthy development of the market. Policy support for rental housing supply will continue to increase.
Real estate financing remains tight. As for the market, sales growth is estimated to decelerate in the second half of the year, while full-year growth maintains steady. Divergence among cities will continue. Land supply scale will continue to increase, and competition for centralized land acquisition is expected to recede. Companies will focus more on risk control. Companies with high leverage and high debt ratio will face challenges, while leading companies with prudent financials will have more opportunities. The group will continue to pursue steady and prudent financial strategies, expediting turnover, consolidating advantages in cost control. It will also improve digitalization and organizational management capabilities to maintain industry-leading profitability. The group will continue to devote efforts to major cities, focus simultaneously on the open market and the blue ocean strategy so as to acquire quality and land parcel for sustainable growth with high efficiency.
The group will pick up pace in market entry and set benchmarks for commercial projects so as to further expand commercial assets and improve operational efficiency. It will also advance digital technology supply chain management and investment in upstream and downstream industrial supply chain to cultivate the group's second growth curve. With abundant capital, the group will seize opportunities emerging from industry realignment to capture more market share and achieve steady and healthy growth, securing an advantageous position in industry realignments. Thank you. We are happy to take questions from you. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Guo. We will move on to Q&A. Let me remind you that you can ask questions over the phone or by leaving a message online. We have received a lot of questions already. Please limit the number of questions each time to two.
Now, let us take the first question, please. Thank you, ladies, and gentlemen. We will now take questions if you want to ask a question please press star one on the telephone keypad. Thank you. First question from CICC, Eric, please go ahead.
Thank you. Mr. Yan, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Guo, greetings. I am Eric of CICC. Just now, you talked about strategy and outlook. I have two questions for you. First, just now, Mr. Guo talked about market trend and policies. Can you elaborate more? Right now, concerning the downward trend in the market, there is a consensus. For this downward trend, what will be the speed? In the process, what kind of feedback will there be in terms of policies? If we look towards next year, at which point in time do you think that this downtrend will reach the bottom?
Would there be such a chance? In the process, if the industry continues to come down, and the policies are still tight, relatively speaking, and then for competitive landscape, there will be deepening competition. With this overall environment, I think it is still favorable to your company, especially given your financials. Given such a situation, in terms of your financial advantage, in terms of your land bank and also earnings growth, can you elaborate? That's my first question. About company or industry trend, company strategies, and so on. Next, my question is about profit margin. Now, COLI's profit margin in the past two years came down a bit. In the industry, your profit margin is still relatively high among your peers. Your net profit margin is even more outstanding.
In the future, in the industry, when do you think the profit margin will see a bottom? What will be the absolute amount? In the future, if there is room for some improvement in profit margin, what will be the situation like? Can you share more in a clearer way? Thank you.
Thank you, Eric. Thank you very much, analysts, investors, for joining us this afternoon. Just now, Eric asked a very good question. Actually, two questions. Our views about the market, our company strategies, I will answer the question. The other question is about the company's profit margin and the industry's profit margin. I will ask Mr. Guo to answer. First, about the market. Eric said a lot. Recently, there is volatility in the market. If you look at our company's development, now in the medium to long term, we are optimistic about the industry.
In the short run, there will be volatility. For medium to long term, we are confident. I want to share a few reasons why we are optimistic about the medium to long term. Secondly, the property sector is very important to China now, as well as USA. In the overall macroeconomy, the property sector plays an important role. It also drives the development of other industry. Its share is also very big. For countries that are developing or are developed countries, well, I think this is a positive sector. If you look at China's stage of society, there won't be too many problems. When we are moving towards a developed country stage, I'm sure things are positive. The second reason is about urbanization rates and population. In 2020, urbanization rates was 64%.
In advanced countries, usually 70%. For the most advanced countries, 80% odd. If you look at that, there are still 10 years' time for us to achieve urbanization rates of advanced countries. In this process, I think people will move from rural area to urban area. People will move from small to medium cities, then medium cities to large cities. Migration of population will continue. As long as there is migration and higher urbanization, there will be some room for development for the property sector. About population. During this time, we have two-children policy and three-children policy being relaxed. In terms of population, at first, we are worried that the peak in population will be reached soon, now, in 2030 or even after 2030, we may see the peak.
The two children, three children policy right now have some impact in the Chinese society. Population will continue to grow. I believe that urbanization, together with population, will lay a strong foundation for the property sector. If you look at the macro economy this year, in the first half, GDP was 12.7%. In the second half, it may come down. For the whole year, 6%-8% GDP growth should not see any problem. In the coming few years, when it comes to China's economic growth, we are full of confidence. There is a lot of organic momentum. Resilience is strong. We believe that the macro economy of China in the coming few years will still maintain sustainable growth. With macroeconomic development, people's per capita disposable income will be supported. When the economy is good, now our demand for housing will continue to be important.
The third reason is about policies. If you look at macro administrative control and adjustment measures in the first half of this year, if you look at land policies, financial policies, the main point is that, of course, they hope that rent will not go up, and at the same time, the property sector can grow steadily and healthily. In other words, all the control measures support a steady long-term development of the property sector. It will give foundation to stable development of the industry. Well, for short-term measures, there will be impact to the market. For medium to long-term, we believe that the policies are favorable to long-term steady development of the industry.
If you look at the actual outcome in the market, in the 1st half, in the land market, the first batch of land supply seems to be hot and competition was intense. Rate of return is low. If you look at sales, well, we have reached a record high in history. Growth rate is very significant. I guess you have the exact data. If you look at the CAGR for the past two years, sales, 14.7% growth. This is a big number. GFA CAGR, 8.1%, and sales revenue, 14.7% growth. At first, we thought that we have already reached a peak, and for a long period of time we will be staying at that level. Now it seems that there is continuous growth, and price is also increasing.
If you look at this trend, we believe that originally our conclusion is that the China property market at a high level is going to stay for a long time. It may be three years or five years. Right now, we think that this trend will stay. If you look at market data, you can see that the Chinese property sector is very huge and there still is growth opportunity. With all these five reasons, in the future, we are full of confidence in the property sector. We will insist on developing this core business, and in the future, we will see good developments. In the short run, there is volatility. The Chinese economy this year in the first half was fast. Last year in the first half, the base figure was low. In the second half, the growth rate may come down.
For the whole year GDP growth rate guidance is 6%-8%. In the first half, 12.7%. It is normal to see a decline in the second half. If you look at policy adjustments, in the first half, land policies and also financial policies, including policies about corporate debts and also mortgage loans for property owners, all these are being tightened. For the rule-breaching companies, there are now more stringent investigations. In the short run, all these will lead to volatility in the market. At the same time, we can see a bigger divergence in the market in the first half. In tier one, tier two cities, they are doing quite well. In tier one cities, sales was up 18% year-on-year. In tier two cities, up 40%, relatively speaking. Tier three cities and tier four cities are weaker. 39% growth year-on-year.
Tier one cities are better than tier two. Tier two cities are better than tier three, four cities. If you look at different regions, Yangtze River Delta, Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong are better than Western and Northeastern regions. In those areas, economic development is better. In the first half, all growth indicators look better. I think There are all these factors, finally, divergence among companies. In the first half of the year, some companies experienced bigger difficulty on the finance end, and also in terms of land funds, source of funds, there are now tighter requirements. The next step is that divergence among companies will see quite a lot of change in the coming period. In the short run, there will be impact on the market because of all these factors. For medium to long term, we are optimistic.
In the short run, there will be volatility in the market. In the second half, we believe that policies will continue, and there would be continuous administrative control measures. On the finance end, there would be the three red lines that will be continued. For mortgage loans for property owners, I think the quota will be tightened further. That's about policies, about the market. In the first half, growth rate was fast. In last year, first half, the base figure was higher, so in the second half, growth rate will come down. For the whole year, I think growth will be stable. Number three, for the land, I think things will be more rational in the second half. Things will not be as in the first half, and there would be some adjustment measures from the state.
The industry will develop in a more rational way. I believe that for companies like us, we will see more opportunities. That's our judgment for the mid to long term and also our forecast for the second half. Regarding our company strategies, we have already stated a lot. There are quite a lot of opportunities to us. Eric also mentioned the point. For sound companies like us, which are looking over the long term, I think there will be more opportunities. For our strategies first, we won't change our original vision. We hope to become excellent internationalized real estate, property, and operator. This vision won't change. This is the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan.
In the coming five years, we will stick to this vision, and we will continue to adopt a long-term approach so that COLI will become a company that we would like to become. Concerning our strategies and business, today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the strategic structure will be kept. We will focus more on residential development, operation, and sale. Most resources will be allocated there. Some resources will be invested in properties that we hold, including future long-rent residential apartments. That is part of our transitional or actually strategy transformation. We have to look at the present moment as well as the long term. That is our strategic goal, which won't change. For our actual strategies, we will adhere to financial prudence principle. We will be prudent and cautious in our financial management. That won't change.
We will abide by the Three Red Lines. We will make sure that we will stay within the green zone. All the indicators will be satisfactory. We will determine our investment based on our revenue. We will maintain adequate cash flow. We will monitor the exchange rate situation. We will optimize our USD RMB debt structure and maintain a reasonable debt portfolio. For our investment strategy, we will insist on three main development strategies. We will focus more on land acquisition in the high-tier cities. We will ask for reasonable return. In the first half of the year, the amount of land acquired is less than at first expected. We think that our investment discipline is more important than land acquisition itself. We will not acquire land for the purpose of acquisition. We will optimize our investment flow and also product standardization.
Right now, the rules are rather complicated. There are lots of things and elements of technology we need to consider in terms of the arrangement. In the public market, we will acquire quality land in the first half of the year. In 2022 public markets, we took part in 400 odd tendering. In the industry, I think we are leading in the number of projects invested. We hope to make use of our strengths so that our success probability can improve. We will continue to do that in the second half. In non-public markets, we will adopt the blue ocean strategy. In the first half, we achieved a lot. In the second half and next year, we will monitor large-scale projects, and we will go for collaboration. Good quality large projects will lay a good foundation for our future development.
Regarding operations, we'll continue to strengthen our digitalization and refined management. Management efficiency has been rising in the past few years. In the first half this year, in terms of project commencement and product launch, there is an advancement by 37 days and 40 odd days. For operating efficiency, it is improving, and we will strengthen our cost control. We want to make sure that there will be flexible cost arrangement. Right now, there are quite a lot of price restrictions. We need to maintain product quality and also customer satisfaction. We need to satisfy our rate of return requirements. All these are tests to our professionalism. We will continue to do a good job in all these areas. For commercial properties, in the first half of this year, there was rapid growth.
For the whole year, if you look at long rent properties, there are 21 commencements and next year there will be 27, 28, which will start operation. We will be moving into high growth rate stage. That would be commercial properties of like RMB 400 million-RMB 500 million, and we will be achieving the target of HKD 10 billion. We'll see a high growth stage. We hope that as soon as possible we can reach RMB 10 billion goal. We are not far away from that. For new businesses, in the past half a year and also the earlier period, in terms of our tech companies, supply chain company, and other new businesses, we are starting. For the industrial chain upstream and downstream, we have close collaboration and investment. We hope that our ecological chain can be stronger.
For our return in our core business, even though there is some decline, with the whole ecological chain, earnings can be balanced, we can maintain a good profit margin. I want to talk about shareholders' return. You are all interested. For half a year, our dividend is HKD 0.45, the same as last year and the year before. For this half year, it is an interim period. The most important thing is the whole year dividend. Given stable development instead of high growth stage, we will continue the dividend payouts. If we have adequate cash flow, we will continue to increase dividend payments. Of course, this needs to balance with our developments. For the market, that is my brief introduction. For medium to long term, we are optimistic.
We will focus on our core business to do our work for transformation and commercial and properties for holding. That is part of it. We will be doing it. The share will increase, but overall, 90% will be properties for sale. In our strategies, we face short-term volatility. We will be sound and stable. In order to ride out the volatility, we will use our advantage and seize market opportunity so that during the volatile period, we can develop steadily. That is our strategy. That's my answer to the two questions. For the question about profit margin, I would defer to Mr. Guo. Thank you.
Thank you, Eric. Just now you asked a question about industry's profit margin. I have a few points to share with you. First, industry's profit margin coming down.
There has already been a consensus, and in the process, we think that the decline in interest profit margin will be within the average profit margin level. In 2020, for the A-share market , the average profit margin was 7.6, and in 2019, 2018, for the three year, average was 7.66. I think there is this trend in place. Number two, in relation to the decline and also being restrained by the average profit margin, there is big divergence among companies with much volatility. Last year, many companies were already lower than the average profit margin of 7.6% in the A-share market . Many companies are higher than that, though. This kind of difference or divergence lead to some social impact and corporate impact. In the future, these will drive the development of the industry. In the process, Number three, we have been talking to investors.
We attach more importance to a high level of net profit margin of sales. It can better reflect a company's core competitiveness. Just now, we said that there are restrictions on purchase, restriction on price, there is rise in wages and raw material costs, and land price is also high. When it comes to selling expenses, administrative expenses, and so on, we are doing some control work. Different companies are different in their cost control ability. For us, the two expenses only account for 3.3%, for financial costs, 3.6%, down 20 BP from last year. With our management as well as our overall cost control advantage, I believe that in the future competition, we will be higher than our peers by three points or five percentage points. In this way, we can still maintain the leading position and competitiveness in the industry.
Finally, I would like to say that you asked when we can see a bottom. Instead of doing this so-called weather forecast, we should review and do a good job to achieve high-quality development. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you.
Our next question is from JP Morgan, Ryan. Please start.
Thank you. Mr. Yan, management, greetings. I am Ryan from JP Morgan. I have two questions. First, about operations. All along, your company is based on ROE as the main target for return. If you look at your average ROE, it is around 15%. Comparing with your four point something times of P/E, actually return on your shares is higher than your operating ROE, and then for your company's operation and efficiency. Your net profit was around HKD 35 billion in the coming two to three years.
Is there a chance to exceed this profit level in the coming two to three years? Will you keep your existing HKD 30 odd billion profit? Just now Mr. Yan talked about dividend. He mentioned a point that you will continue to increase dividend payment amounts. In the past you also mentioned an increase in dividend payout. This year, is it the same dividend payout as the past? For share buyback, will you increase your effort to increase the return on each share to shareholders? That's my first question. Next question. Your company is very different from other developers, and that is you focus a lot on tier one cities and Hong Kong. Your share of investment is the highest in these places. You can take advantage of your low financing cost because land price is higher. Now in tier one cities, you are doing more investment.
How is your financial position different from other companies? Your GP margin is higher than other companies, or is your turnover lower? How should we interpret this? You focus a lot on tier one cities. What is the logic behind? How is your financial position different from other companies? These are my two questions. Thank you.
Thank you, Ryan. First question is about operations. I will ask Mr. Luo to answer. If necessary, Mr. Guo can supplement. There is a question about dividend payout and buyback. Eddie can answer. There is a question on tier one cities investment. About tier one, tier two cities, you want to ask for the logic behind the investment in tier one cities and then security in the market and also financial. I will ask Mr. Zhang to talk about the logic of investment in tier one cities. Mr. Luo first.
Yes. Thank you, Ryan, for your question. Regarding ROE and net profit margin turnover, I think all these are related. I think you have worked out the average value among property companies. Of course, there are big differences in this average level. You can do your own calculations. For the long run, long-term average stable ROE level can reflect the growth in the industry. In the past, because of the industry leveraging was overall high, some property companies had very high leveraging. Their ROE was much higher than the average level. At present, there are three red lines for property companies and for mortgage loan and so on. There are two red lines that are related to financial policies. The high leveraging expansion is not sustainable, and it will be stopped.
For profit margin and operating efficiency and turnover efficiency, we can say that our financial is sound, leveraging rate is low. For our investment and products, we try our best to create value. We control cost. We enhance our efficiency and lower cost. Just now an analyst asked a question, we are still confident to maintain a leading profit margin in the industry. If you talk about turnover efficiency, in the past, our company's turnover rate is higher than the peers. You may know that in the past years in the industry, we have a leading digital management platform. By means of this platform, our company's operation and management are being enhanced in terms of their efficiency. In first half this year, our average product commencement was faster, more advanced by 36 days. The product launch was earlier by 48 days.
I think we're able to collect cash or recover cash faster. Turnover has further accelerated. Because of that, we believe that our ROE will stay at a better level in the industry. In terms of turnover efficiency and profit margin, we are also leading so that we can maintain a leading position in the industry. Thank you.
Mr. Guo, do you think you have anything to add?
Right. Let me supplement regarding ROE. If you look at its calculation and estimate, as Mr. Luo said, you can look at profit margin for sales and also asset turnover and also return on equity. For this, if you look at our sales profit margin, we are number one. If you look at ROE, you also must consider the rate of return.
ROE is such that we assume that our financial statements are more comprehensive, information disclosure is more complete. When there are debts, both off and on-balance sheet, we may not be able to see clearly whether the leveraging is positive or negative. For overall calculation of ROE, we may not be able to achieve our original goal. Looking at it, you may not be able to do an apple-to-apple comparison. For ROE, it is not the only criterion to assess whether a company is good or not, but it is still important. We will continue to work hard to make sure that our ROE will be steady.
Thank you. Eddie, dividend payout and share buyback, please.
Right. Thank you for your question, Ryan. For dividend and also share price, I think these are things that shareholders and investors are concerned about.
Just now, the chairman explained our strategy. He said clearly that our company insists on creating value for shareholders. When we have the capability, we will not rule out the possibility of increasing dividend payout. It is true that in the past three years, every year, we have been enhancing dividend payout. At the end of last year, dividend payouts exceeded 30%. In the past two years, in the interim, we paid HKD 0.45, and this year, interim dividend was the same HKD 0.45. This year, is it true that dividend payout is more or less the same as last year? For interim dividend, it is actually some sort of a prepayment. At the end of the year, we will assess the overall profitability, cash on hand, to determine return on shareholders. If the situation allows, we will consider enhancing dividend payouts.
Every year, there is actually profit per share, which is increasing. Dividend is also increasing. Every year in the past three years, dividend per share is rising in a double-digit rate. Last year, in 2020, the total dividend per share exceeded 15.7% increase. We hope that our increase in dividend payouts will be such that if we have the ability, we will actively consider. We won't rule out the possibility of further improvements. About share buyback all along, for share buyback, it is a basic operation. The management may think that the current stock price cannot reflect our own value and our profitability. When necessary, the company will make a move to do share buyback in the market. Last year, we did a few buyback. We spent HKD 189 million to buy back our shares.
At the same time this year, our majority shareholder increased shareholding from the market. Through our share buyback and the increase in shareholding by majority shareholder, we want to give the market some confidence, because this means that we think that we are willing and we are able to improve and make a move when the share price cannot reflect our real value. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is about investment logic in tier one cities. I will ask our CEO, Mr. Zhang, to answer.
Thank you, analysts, for your questions. They are very good questions. In Tier 1 cities, well, they are places where we are deeply rooted in. We started in 1985, our development work in Hong Kong. At the end of '80s and in early '90s, we completed our layout in mainland tier one cities.
Through our work in the past 30 years, we have accumulated our capabilities and brand, and also our ability to react to the market in tier one cities. You may be interested in our investment logic. First, our rates of return, and number two, our project turnover rate. In tier one cities, if you look at return, well, the defensiveness is strong. Last year and this year in tier one cities, the overall growth rate is strong in terms of its ability to rebound. If you look at turnover, if you look at daily data and numbers, there are some weak points. For example, presale standards in some areas may show some weakness. If you look at operating efficiency and operating results, there are also some unique strengths. Because in these cities, we realize that first, these cities are high in defensiveness.
Our sales speed and our cash flow performance in these cities are better than in tier two and tier three cities. For these projects, in terms of low effectiveness assets, including our shop premises and car park spaces, the completion of sales is different from tier two, three cities. If you look at overall operation efficiency, tier one cities have their unique advantages. The point is whether we have formed our capability in these cities and our unique methodology. There will be total resources or products of HKD 140 billion in total. This is very helpful to our achievement of target. For property company at this stage, and given the industry policies, I think if you look at our investment portfolio, we have some projects which show advantages in turnover, and some are good for return.
I think tier one cities, in terms of rates of return, turnover speed, and asset quality, are more balanced and more positive. In the future, we will stick to Tier 1 cities and we will continue our investment strategy to allocate our resources and make investment.
Thank you. Next question. DBS, Danielle, please go ahead.
Management, greetings. I am Danielle. I have three short questions. First, looking at your PPT, the 2021 full year target is not spelled out as in previous year. For the double-digit sales growth and also the investment budget of HKD 115 billion, these are indicators given in March. Will they be capped? Second question, just now the management said that your recurring revenue moving towards HKD 10 billion and your path is sound.
In terms of commercial assets, commercial management and long rent, residential apartment, asset securitization, what are your thoughts? Are you going to adopt the new platform in mainland China to achieve asset securitization? These are my two questions. Thank you.
Thank you. Ms. Wang, I will take your first question. In 2021, our target doesn't change, so that's why we haven't particularly mentioned it in terms of our sales target and investment target. We continue to follow the established targets, and we will try our best to achieve them. So far, we are confident in achieving the targets. For investment target, at the end of the day, we have to look at competition in the land market. As said just now, one important point is that for non-profitable land, we won't buy it. We won't acquire for the sake of acquisition.
It all depends on the city and what the competition and government rules are like. We will try our best to achieve our targets. Your second question is about asset management and also asset securitization and exits. I will ask Mr. Wang to answer the question.
Thank you very much for giving me this chance to do a sharing with you. Concerning the achievement of HKD 10 billion, in fact, we have made that point in our announcement. The chairman has shared with you some insights. At present, our overall structure is that we hope to achieve the RMB 10 billion target. This year, this is the starting year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. If you look at our overall business, we hope to seize the rhythm of the 14th Five-Year Plan. Let me share with you our projects on hand.
We have 161 projects, and this year, there are 21 projects that will be completed. At the end of the year, there will be more than 6 million sq m, and there will be a total of 111 projects. In the future, where every year there will be 20 projects on average every year. For GFA increase, CAGR will reach 20%. If you refer to our 14th Five-Year Plan, I think we will achieve a double-digit high speed growth. We will focus on some segments. For example, shopping mall business during the 14th Five-Year Plan. In 2025, when all the projects are completed, then the total scale will be 100% increased, and there would be a lot of support for our development. In office buildings where we have a strength, we will continue to develop that. I think that there will be dual driving forces in that case.
You asked about long rent apartments. For this business, I think a lot of people are interested in this area. There is state policy associated with that. For long rent residential apartments, this is not a new business segment. It is a traditional one. In the past few years, there have been more projects and organizations working on property management. By means of these organizations getting into the market, I think efficiency can be enhanced. We have seen improvement in many enterprises. This is also a direction of the state. If you look at our resources on hand, for long rent apartments, they are in 11 cities of China. This is in line with our investment strategy. If you look at our main projects, they are in core cities, which are better in quality. For population and industry, there are advantages.
We have seen a growth trend. We focus on those cities in Eastern China. Well, half of our projects are there. The overall structure is quite good. Right now, there are 85 projects which can constitute a good scale. There are two main brands among our projects. We have got a good management system. At present, if you talk about occupancy rate, 96%. For those projects which have started operation for six months or above occupancy of 98%. I think if you talk about market management, well, we are looking at a closed loop. I think the state is giving a lot of support and push. There are a number of researches done previously. We have taken part. In the days to come, we will closely monitor policy change, and we will do a good job in market development.
If the market allows, we will continue to commence projects.
Right. Thank you. Because of time, now we will take the last question. Okay, thank you. Last question is from Karl of Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Management, greetings. I have one question. Some time ago, there was a news report saying that the regulator is asking large developers to not exceed 40% of land acquisition every year. Have you communicated with the regulator? Would there be flexibility in implementation? In tier one cities, you are deeply rooted, so will you be at a disadvantage because land price is higher? If that policy is strictly implemented, what are some solutions on your part?
Thank you for your question. We'll ask Mr. Zhang, our CEO, to take it.
Okay, thank you for your question.
Last year, on behalf of the company, I went to the state authority and the central bank to attend that meeting. You asked about that indicator that existed already at that time. It is part of the reference for the three red lines. It is not a mandatory requirement. Property companies for three consecutive years have net cash flow that must not be all negative. It is an important reference point. For reference companies, if they cannot reach a green zone for all three red lines, then there should be some formalized management. I think it is a supplementary restraint. We have communicated with the authority, we have given our feedback, and we have got their understanding and acknowledgement. When it comes to 40%, well, it will exclude the investment in properties for holding. In our total investment, we have some self-operated investment as well.
If all those can be deducted, then we can actually reach or approximate that level. On one hand, it is not a mandatory requirement. On the other hand, for its impact on our company, the impact is not big. There won't be a big problem. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Zhang. Thank you for joining COLI's 2021 interim results announcement. Thank you, analysts and investors for your long-term support and interest. On the coming days, during our result road shows, we will have more in-depth communication. We will conclude our announcement and presentation here. Thank you for your time.