Dear analysts and investors, good afternoon. Welcome to China Overseas Land & Investment Limited interim results presentation. We have with us today our Chairman and CEO, Mr. Hao Jianmin; Vice Chairman and Senior VP, Mr. Xiao Xiao; President, Mr. Chen Yi; Vice President and Chief Architect, Mr. Luo Liang; and our CFO, Mr. Horace Ip. First of all, Mr. Hao is going to share with us the interim highlights. Good afternoon. I'm happy to meet with you after we have released our interim results to share with you some latest updates and make some exchanges. Thank you very much for your long-term concern and support. Today, I'm going to focus on four areas.
First of all, our interim results, and then I will take you through our business review in the past six months, and then I will provide some market analysis and share with you some of our strategies, and finally, our guidance for the second half and related plans and projects. I should say that you already heard of the new disclosure. We have already completed the plan for acquisition of different portfolios and shares from our mother company. This is going to foster our position as the backbone platform, strengthen our financial capability, and effectively resolve certain peer competition issues. First of all, I'm going to provide some explanations to you because concerning capital injection and other relevant data, there may not be separate breakdowns for you.
According to some accounting standards, some of these figures have already been incorporated, and it may be quite difficult to have a breakdown analysis. Perhaps I should just offer more details here. Of course, you are all the experts, and you look at any data, any figures, and you get it right away. I'm sure you know exactly what is going where. Allow me to take you through our interim results. In the first half, we realized revenue HK$ 64.85 billion, an increase of 19.5%. Net profit, HK$ 16.3 billion, up 20%. I won't go through all the details here, just a few highlights. Net profit is up 20%, a new record for our group. We maintain high level of value creation. In the first half, gross margin 32.24%, and our core net profit 20.3%. Next, let's look at our segment results.
For property development, we realized revenue HK$ 62.55 billion, taking up 96.4% of the total amount, up 19.2%. Property development, HK$ 19 billion, up 12.4%. Investment, HK$ 4.26 billion, up 18.2%. This chart, basically, I'm covering the scenario with the capital injection. We see an increase of our shareholders' equity by 39.9% to HK$ 186 billion. By the end of June, we have cash at hand, HK$ 78.61 billion, and the net gearing ratio dropped substantially to 13.4%. This is a very healthy balance sheet showing financial flexibility. The next slide, I'm sure you understand what you're looking at. In July, we successfully issued 600 million EUR bonds. Subscription rates nearly HK$ 1 billion. This is a new attempt facing strong US dollar. According to some latest changes in the market, they show that our direction is very positive and correct. I'm sure you're going to ask about renminbi exchange rate.
This is giving you some explanation in advance. The next chart concerns the structure of our financial assets and also our debt. CNY cash at 69%, HKD and USD 30.6%, with undrawn credit of HKD 9.6 billion. Total asset that we can use, HKD 88.2 billion. This is a very sufficient reserve for our future development. If you look at our debt structure, you can see bank loans HKD 55.46 billion. Long-term debt 90%. The structure is very healthy again. On the 11th of August, after some reforms to the exchange rate reporting mechanism, there is a cumulative drop of the exchange rate of CNY by 2.7%. In shorter term, we are going to optimize our asset management to avoid, as far as possible, exchange losses.
For the medium to longer term, we will actively explore other financing channels to leverage on our dual platforms and use different currencies to do financing so that we can react to market fluctuations effectively. Later I will talk about more concerning our financing strategies. I am sure that is another area of concern. I am sure you have some questions in that area, perhaps I can explain a little bit first. The second part concerns our business review in the first half. We realized HKD 85.4 billion. In terms of contracted property sales and accumulated corresponding GFA sold, 5.8 million odd sq m. During the period, we strictly managed the collection process to ensure that the cash flow back rate was high. This is the list of projects completed. You can see different projects and different regions. There are 44 in total, and total GFA here, 5.876 million sq m.
By the end of June, we have sold 78% of our GFA. Very satisfactory results. This chart is about property pre-sales and inventory. Total amount is HKD 62.5 billion, and for pre-sale, 5.51 million sq m. Once completed, the total amount would be HKD 92.4 billion. Next chart shows you land acquisitions in the first half of this year. We have purchased five plots, total GFA 2.26 million sq m at a premium of CNY 8.26 billion. For the capital injection project, total GFA is 10.92 million sq m. It is going to bring to the group land resources covering GFA of 9 million sq m. We have not purchased too many lots in the open market because we already have capital injection, and at the same time, we have been looking at possible opportunities.
Sometimes when it comes to land acquisition, it is hard to achieve a very even allocation. In the second half, we will continue to identify suitable opportunities. Other than open market, we will also consider M&A opportunities in the market. The next chart is about the land bank situation. By the end of June, our total reserved GFA, 44.09 million sq m, and 8.9 million sq m coming from the injection project. After the capital injection, together with 14 tier-3 cities covered by Haihong, we have 51 cities in our network. The next chart is the situation for investment property. In terms of our scale, after the injection project, we have completed 1.5 million sq m of investment property, and the rental increased to HKD 920 million, up 23.4%. The rental situation for mature projects are very positive. Shenyang, Nanjing reaching 90% or more.
For our three office buildings in London, the return is also very positive. We will continue to uphold our service concepts of coexistence, co-sharing, and win-win situation. We will collaborate with different e-commerce operators so that our office cloud can provide more convenient services to our commercial clients. Next, let's look at the market and our strategy. These figures, I'm sure you are very familiar, because they have been released by the relevant authorities. In the first half, for commercial properties, the sales was up 10%. Newly commenced projects, GFA dropped by 15.8%, land acquisition, drop of 33.8%. We can see that the GFA for acquisition and also commencement of construction work has been shrinking. We continue to be cautiously optimistic for the second half of the year. The following charts are about the Chinese economic outlook, about the macroeconomic situation.
I'm sure you already know about these figures, I won't repeat them one by one. Here, I want to share with you our analysis and judgments. Right now, we see a number of new trends in the Chinese property market. First of all, after accelerated growth, Chinese economy is entering this new normal, and the property sector will enter this new normal with stable growth. With people's income growing steadily and also urbanization propelling deeper, we believe that long-term need can be sustained in the property sector. We still believe that the property sector in China is a rising sector. Secondly, with less administrative intervention, market mechanism is becoming more effective. We will, from time to time, see ups and downs in the market, and we need to rely on very solid operating capability to face up to such challenges.
Thirdly, the level of concentration will continue to intensify. We believe that the top 100 players in the market will get the market share of over half of the market, and there will continue to be more M&A activities in the market. I've already talked about the macro outlook. Now let's look at corporate strategies. With this new normal, we don't just go after scale, but rather we need to focus on comparative advantage and sustainable development. We're confident that with such fierce competition, we'll continue to expand our market share. In terms of our development strategies, I am sure you already understand our long-term strategies. I'm just providing a quick summary here, because we have all covered more or less the same points in the past. First of all, I would like to share with you some strategies for different areas.
First of all, on our products. We will continue to strengthen R&D and launch projects and products that are in line with the demand in the market. We will also focus on efficiency and maintain our leading profitability. In terms of our projects construction, we will continue to perfect our procurement platform and continue to promote green building concepts. In terms of investment, we will focus on operating in cities and fully leverage on our financial resources. When we meet with the right opportunities, we will acquire land, not just in the open market, but also consider M&A opportunities so as to expand our foothold. In terms of internal management, we are going to enhance efficiency for marketing management and shorten all the management cycles and optimize the flows of our work.
I have already talked about this at the beginning of the year, so far I can tell you we have already achieved some very good results. It is about achieving synergy from different segments. In terms of commercial property, we are going to fully utilize the new changes in the market that we can make necessary adjustments to our planning and operation model. This chart is about financing. I believe you're all very concerned about this. I should say that recently we've seen some major fluctuation of the renminbi exchange rate, you're concerned about overseas financing work. I have actually provided this chart to show you some new development concerning our group financing strategy.
In the past decade, with the reform of the exchange rate and also the QE initiatives in the U.S., we have expanded financing channels in terms of U.S. dollar and Hong Kong dollars. This year, U.S. dollar has become more expensive with the interest hikes and other currencies going weak. We have started adjusting our financing strategies. We have made new attempts domestically and also overseas. One good example is the euro bond issuance in July. In the future, we will move away from over-reliance on U.S. bonds or U.S. debts. We're going to fully utilize our double platforms, explore diversified financing channels, always consider the interest rate and exchange rate, as to further dissipate all the risk and improve our debt structure. We're also looking at expansion of domestic or onshore debt. Next, some guidance for the rest of the year.
You can see some figures here. I'm not going to present them one by one. For the entire year, all we can see that we have completed the injection project from the mother company, different segments are developing very smoothly. We are confident that there will be stable growth in this new normal of the property sector, we now have more sellable resources. For the contracted sales target, it's been adjusted to HKD 180 billion. I would like to take you through two major figures here. That is the sellable resources for the entire year. It's been adjusted to HKD 280 billion. In the second half, we're going to launch more than HKD 150 billion in terms of new flats.
We will continue to make use of all the market opportunities and continue to promote standardized and streamlined management to create greater level of return for our shareholders. This is the end of my presentation. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mr Hao. We now move on to Q&A session. Please raise your hand if you would like to ask a question and tell us who you are before you ask your questions. Over here, the lady.
Thank you. Morgan Stanley. I have three questions. First, you talked about by the end of 2016, there will be new renovation for some of the projects. What about cost control? What about pricing? What are your strategies? What do you think the margin is going to be? Second question is about the company's future land acquisition policy. What do you think about first-tier city being overheated?
Any changes concerning land policy from local governments? Thirdly, any plan to issue onshore bonds or onshore debts? Thank you for your questions. When it comes to the renovation package that we offer to our clients, we have been making preparation for quite some time. By the end of next year, we are talking about 100% for our projects. We are fully prepared for that. What about the standards? Well, this is commercial secret, but basically there are 6 sets of standards, and in the past years, we can see that they are widely recognized by our clients. When it comes to the renovation standards, I cannot tell you exactly how much we are making because there are many different sets, but I can tell you the profit level is not lower than pre-sale projects. Okay? I suppose you understand what I'm trying to say.
I didn't tell you how much we're making from the renovation, okay? Don't write anything about that. It's not lower than previous profit levels. When it comes to pricing, I think I've already answered your question. About our land bank policy, I believe many of you are concerned about this topic, because recently I have been hearing rumors about first-tier cities. In the past six months, it seems that information coming from different sources are saying that there are surges in first-tier cities. I'm not sure where such information comes from. For different projects, different cities, the situation is always different. Among these cities, the land premium has gone up quite substantially. In other words, in the future, among these cities, whether you are able to obtain higher level of return, well, let's just wait and see, to be honest.
First-tier mainstream cities, I don't want to name them because I don't want to offend anyone, but for mainstream first-tier cities, we've seen success stories and also failures. It is not true that every single developer, every project in first-tier cities will give you good return. I suppose you understand what I'm trying to say, right? In the future, are there opportunities in first-tier cities? Well, the property sector is a rising sector. Of course, that will cover the development opportunities in first-tier cities. Which companies, which projects will be such good opportunities? Well, we have to carry out very detailed analysis. If you say good prospect for all first-tier cities, I beg to differ, but I do not disagree that the sell-through rate may be faster, but what is the price level?
If you are running a business lower than the market rate, yes, you can sell everything very quickly. You are sacrificing your long-term development for some short-term cash. If you are going after reasonable return, it really depends on your capability level, because product competition and brand competition, and also competition in terms of your overall capability, we have very high standards. Not every single project can achieve the same results. I think three to four years ago, many companies will tell you, first-tier cities, the risk is too high. They are moving to third-tier cities instead. Today, I would like to tell you, third-tier cities, very risky. Let's go back to first-tier cities. Investment direction and policies and strategies are constantly changing, and that is a very risky decision to change things all the time. You are asking about onshore debt in renminbi.
Things are moving forward. I cannot give you any concrete answer because issuance of debt onshore needs to go through approval procedures. It's quite different from the situation in Hong Kong. I cannot really disclose too much today. I have already said we will rely on different currencies, and we have a dual platform for financing. We believe this is our advantage and our core competitiveness. Thank you. Can we invite the next question? The first row here. Good afternoon. I'm Carol from DBS. Three questions for you. First, Mr. Hao, you have talked about professionalized management as one of your strategies. Can you offer more comment? What impact do you want to achieve in terms of cost control? Are you talking about other areas that's going to have positive impacts on the company? Second question, concerning land acquisition.
I haven't heard about M&A for a while. What companies or what projects are you considering? Are you negotiating anything? Thirdly, in terms of investment property, you mentioned that the company will continue to hold high-value international projects for rental. In the future, is it possible that you are going to move to other places around the world to purchase office buildings or commercial premises? Thank you. Thank you for the questions. The first question is really a huge topic. If I talk about that, all the time will be gone. I really have to be concise. I just focus on the really important points. First of all, when the property sector develops to a certain stage or any sector, when we come to a certain stage, when things mature, we need professionalism. If you don't have such capability, I'm afraid your competitiveness will be weakened.
I've already told you when it comes to the property sector, there are two special characteristics. First, you are talking about investment style, the second one is production style. By combining these two things together, there are conflicts. For example, culture, management, and management and costs. If you cannot combine things together effectively, you cannot enhance the level of competitiveness. When the scale reaches a certain level, what is going to happen? Sometimes you have the scale but no profit, or you make good profit, but you lack in terms of scale. If you look at some developing companies, it's very obvious. Therefore, I can only say to you something that is the most important. If you are really interested, perhaps I can find another opportunity to have a detailed discussion with you about our professionalized management. I'm very interested.
If you're not interested, of course, let's forget it. I've just talked about the crux of the matter. You asked about land acquisition policies. We have talked about this. There are three ways to grow, and we never rule out any of them. M&A is one of them. It is one way to grow and expand. I can't tell you what projects we are considering. I guess that's how I'm going to answer this question. Third question about investment properties. In the past, we have moved to London. Are we going internationalized? Actually, we have told you that the three properties in London better return than those in Hong Kong, because how things operate there is quite similar to Hong Kong. When I told you this point some years ago, I told you not to worry about investment risk.
If I invest something in Hong Kong, you're not going to ask a similar question because you all know about the Hong Kong market. You will not ask us if we have the necessary experience. In the future, we will continue to follow the same direction of development. We have no plan to invest all around the world. Thank you. Can we invite the next question? Over here, the gentleman.
Hi. This is Jim from Morgan Stanley. I'd just like to check with you, given the recent moves in the FX market when the PBOC sharply devalued the yuan. How is this going to impact the company's full-year results, and what's that hedging policy like going forward?
Well, you didn't ask these questions, not the locals. We have an expert friend who finally raised the question. Let's be honest. With you, I will offer more details and figures, but not to the reporters, because you are the real experts. You belong to this industry. I think I need to make a statement first. We have interpretation for all of you. When we talk about exchange rates or FX issues, it is a very professional area. When we make comments, we are not that professional. Why do we need to have exchanges with you? Mainly because of two points. First, in terms of operation of the company, what will be the impact? What about our future strategies? It is about risk assessment. In the past, we very often discussed with you our core competitive edge. That is the dual platform for financing.
It seems no one really cares about that. They only look at the level of debts or level of financing in Hong Kong. No one cares about the renminbi side. Today, I think you finally understand why we have been talking about the dual platform for so long. In the past, we talked about onshore financing. We have very good channels. I trust that you have not really listened to that. It was like I never said anything about that. Today, once again, I want to stress with you our dual platforms. Both platforms are going very well. In terms of risk assessment, we are very well prepared. In other words, beginning from last year, when you analyze the future trends for renminbi You have started working on this topic for quite some time. What we wanted to assess was the matter of cost.
How can we have lower cost to complete our debt restructuring? What does that mean? In the past, in terms of our operational strategies, we already made the necessary preparations. Therefore, at the press conference, I talked about controllable risk. That's all I said. Nothing else. Why? Because we have been prepared for a very long time. What is the impact on us? As I think I pointed earlier, if you combine everything, HKD, USD debt, long-term debt is the majority. Short-term debt only takes up a small proportion. Concerning future development of the Chinese economy, what do you say? If you say that you are pessimistic. You're pessimistic about future development of Chinese economy and renminbi, then don't invest in China, because that would be a wrong decision. What do you really say?
When it comes to growth of the Chinese economy and its future development, what I told you, I believe in plenty of opportunities. We have talked about urbanization, reforms of the SOEs, and infrastructural development. Everything is still progressing. In the past, I have talked about the move of the Chinese population, urbanization, and infrastructural projects. Well, things are still happening. It will go on for a long time. If you look at more advanced countries and places, they have all the necessary infrastructure already. In medium or small-sized cities, we still have a very long way to go. Future growth momentum will be very strong. If we have consensus about future development and growth of the Chinese economy, if you are optimistic, then renminbi exchange rates or long-term debt of our company, you should have your own conclusion already.
If we go into smaller details, we have a total scale of debt of over HKD 90 billion. About half is in HKD. Well, $40 billion and HKD 50 billion. Among these, among all the debts. Because you want to look at the 30th of June. In our hands, cash level is more than HKD 30 billion. In Hong Kong and Macau, our investment, more than HKD 30 billion. We have more than HKD 60 billion. We have invested HKD 30 billion to HKD 40 billion already. In other words, you can do the math, 2.7% of depreciation. What's the level of risk? I think you know the answer already. If you look at any possible losses. It is just a single-digit level. Our profitability, our unit is HKD 10 billion. Single-digit losses, isn't that well under control?
The growth of property prices, if it increases by 1%-2%, you would think that is nothing. Turning things around, you should understand that risk is well under control. We have also mentioned, when we analyze risk, we have enhanced restructuring our debt. We rely on different currencies. We have the dual platforms for financing. Things have been further expanded and deepened. Basically. When it comes to our operational strategies, if you have confidence, if you believe in all of us on the stage, don't be worried. Because when you go to battle well-equipped, that is the first thing, and we have that. Thank you very much.
Can we invite the next question? Over here in the first row.
Mr. Hao, Ryan from Morgan Stanley. I have three questions for you. First of all, about dividend payout. Around interim announcement, I can see that beginning from the year 2000, you offer more and more. This year is an exception. There is no growth in terms of dividend payout. What about the whole year dividend level? Second question. China Overseas, other than domestic development of residential premises, you also have Hong Kong rental premises with very good margin and also some other projects.
They have all been completed. You can sell them and you get the money back. In the recent years, margin has been shrinking for the entire industry. What will be the whole year margin level? Third question, more at the macro level. In the announcements, I have noticed that you believe that the Chinese government will provide other supporting policies to the industry. What about the second half, other than relaxation of credit? What else will be launched by the government to stimulate the property sector?
All right, thank you for the questions. Well, when it comes to our dividend payout policy, we have talked about that many times. We want to keep it within the range of 20%-40%. Every year you'll see some growth year on year. How come you say there is no growth this time? Well, there is something ongoing. I cannot tell you too much, but it's getting approval, is in the process. Have you forgotten about that? Dividend payout policy, there's no change, there's no adjustments. We want to continue to enhance our value creation for our shareholders. We want to have growth year on year. There is no change to our policy.
High margin projects, to be honest, when the industry develops up to a certain stage, things will return to the normal level. I don't think this sector has entered the era of low margin. Well, I won't say such things with the reporters. To enhance our capability of management and operation and core competitiveness is the ultimate way to seek higher returns. We have seen some higher profit margin projects. Is that not going to happen in the future? It will happen, just not at the same proportion when our core competitiveness continues to improve. As I have said, profit is of course the ultimate goal, because we want to create more value for our shareholders. In other words, in terms of overall operation, when there are no changes to our policies, we will continue to insist on past policies.
Perhaps you see us as one of the leading corporations in the sector. In other words, we will always go after higher level of margin and profit. Local government policies? Well, if you look at the private sector today, the consensus is that marketization level is going up. The market will lead the industry to sustain healthy development. That is the message coming from our government. In the past, maybe people have been relying too much on the incentive policies from the government, but those things cannot go on forever. I think the best way forward is to rely on marketization. We'll be able to promote stable and healthy development of the entire industry. Every company in the industry should continue to strive for better level of competitiveness. Next question, over here in the fourth row. I'm Eugene from UBS.
I would like to ask you something about COGO. Very good performance at Overseas, our China Overseas Land & Investment Limited. What about COGO? What do you think about its future development? What about its shareholding structure? Second question. What about cash? How are you going to use your cash? You have registered your sales target, so whole-year cash flow should be very strong, and you have a low level of gearing ratio. With the same dividend payout level, are you going to consider repurchasing some of the stocks? Today is China Overseas Land & Investment Limited presentation, so I probably shouldn't say anything about COGO. If you want some information, maybe we can have some Exchanges on this side. You asked about something very sensitive, and I cannot really answer. Shareholding? Anything can happen. I cannot answer you.
Whether we are moving forward, backward, to the right, or to the left, because things will happen when it happens. You asked about repurchase. Our financial situation is very healthy, very solid. In our presentation, we have already showed you the figures, how we think about future industry development, what's going to happen in the market. We want to maintain healthy and solid financial position so that when opportunities present themselves, we can grasp such opportunities. Without enough cash on hand, you will miss the opportunities. Opportunities are always for those who are well-prepared. Next question. Second row over here. Thank you. I have two questions. First, whole-year targets and completion rate of first half. Compared to previous years, first half completion rate is higher, especially compared with 2012. It was 20-odd% only, and this time 48%.
Does it include the capital injection project? If we take that aside, what will be the figure? You have readjusted your full-year contracted sales target, but you have not adjusted the other targets at the same time. If we put aside the injection project, what will be the situation for the entire year? We should be able to see that the level of readjustment, how much of that is because of the capital injection, and how much is because of the positive market outlook? That's the first question. Second question, in the second half, it is possible that some new tax arrangements will be implemented. Can you share your comments with us? How is that going to affect the industry? Thank you for the questions. You are of such high level.
Thank God I did my homework, otherwise I would have no idea how to answer you. For the full-year target, I've already mentioned something. The injection has been completed because of accounting principles, and it's hard to break things down now. We just decided to forget about the comparison because it's not a fair comparison. We are still following more or less the same direction. If you look at all the figures, they already incorporate the new project, so I cannot take that out because it's simply nearly impossible. Everything has been consolidated already. You asked about the completion target for the first half. In the past, yes, indeed. Perhaps not as low as 20%. Around 40%, I think that's the norm. 60% for the second half. That is more or less the normal and healthy split for this year.
We are talking about whole year, 12 million sq m for completion. In terms of a proportion, it's very normal, very appropriate. No major changes here. Of course, every year completion rate, I think it's always better to do more. Every year, you can see that the final figure is always not as high as I want it to be. It is like a long race. You need to reserve some energy for the second half, otherwise you will collapse halfway through. What we do is like a long race. According to previous experience, I think you understand very well what is happening. I can only say no major changes here. You also asked about the tax arrangement. Well, that is at the national policy level. I understand that things are still to be decided.
For example, which type of cost can be calculated, how the tax rates are to be calculated in details. Well, they have not been confirmed, it is still under discussion. Perhaps it's premature for me to comment on how it's going to impact on our business. Perhaps we should wait until everything is confirmed and announced, then we can provide a proper analysis on the level of impact. At the moment, because the government is still deciding on the details and arrangements, whether it's positive impact or negative impact, it's simply premature. Thank you. Next question, over here. First row. There are four questions. COLI is performing very well this year in every aspect. Other players are having a rather tough time. For other developers, what is the biggest challenge or difficulty? Second question is about your financial situation. net profit is very good.
For the tax level, whether it is VAT for the land or profit tax, things have been increasing up to 17% or 18%. Can you elaborate more? Third question. In that first half, more than HKD 80 billion sold, HKD 55.3 billion already flew back. Can you offer more comments about this rate of cash flow back? You talked about full-year targets. What about new projects? Are you going to add to the level because the sales condition is so positive? All right. Concerning your first question, to be honest, I'm really sorry. You know my style, don't you? I really don't want to comment on other people. If you say I'm doing well or not so well, yes, I'm happy to discuss, but I don't want to talk about other people, especially when you name another player.
You should understand we've never named anyone else to comment or criticize them. Why? Because you are the expert. Who's doing well, who's not doing so well? You know the answer already. If you ask me, you want some proof, is it the case, or you just want me to offer my own feelings? Well, you are the expert here. I know the answer is already in your mind, I'm not going to comment on others. Which companies are good companies? I'm sure you can rely on your professional judgment. You know more than I do. In front of all of you, for me to comment on other players, I feel like a primary school student, I'm not going to do that. Then you asked Well, Oscar, I know you check all the figures in our report. Some changes to profit tax and VAT.
There are actually two reasons that I can share with you. I know that you're going to ask about that. First of all, when it comes to VAT, when you reach a certain level, your profitability is very strong. When it goes to a very low level, it means that you're not really making a profit. It is related to the level of profitability of a company. In the past, in the property sector, the margin has been very high. This time, we have incorporated some projects with a margin level that is less high, or the projects in Hong Kong, the margins have been very high. I have put in some other projects to make it look nice. We want to keep the good stuff because we have been developing for quite some time. We're looking at very big figures.
You all know who are left for the long race. That's what we want to do. It's a long race. We want to keep running. About cash flow back. In the first half. Normally around June, the figure is quite big. We need more time for the cash to flow back, especially the projects sold towards the end of June. It takes time because most of the buyers have only paid the first installment. Cash flow back is always a bit lower. I'm sure if you look at our past records, you should be very confident, so there's no need to worry about cash flow back. When it comes to mortgage loans, overall situation with the banks is well under control. Situation is better than last year. 13 million sq m for commencement of construction work, that is very conservative.
There are different projects, and we make necessary adjustments here and there. Thank you. Can we invite the last question? It's okay. This is not a press con. I always want to wrap up the press con quickly. Frank, I have one question. I can see from the PPT you want to take up 5% of the market share in China. You never offered that in the past. Mr. Hao said that scale and profitability always are in conflict for many players in the market. How do they resolve that? How can you be big and make a lot of money at the same time? That is my question. Yes, I think all the shareholders will be very happy to hear that. I'm talking about 50% of the market share taken up by the top 100 players. I never said we want to take up 5%.
Of course, I'm not saying that is not possible, but I don't want to set a limit to our future development. I never said that when we reach this scale, we will stop. Market share, for some cities, you can take more than 20%. For some other cities, maybe 3%, 5% is enough. We are talking about higher level of concentration. That's what I mean. I never set any upper limit. Scale and profitability. It doesn't matter which industry you are in. Because of scale expansion, management capability will be diluted, resources will be diluted, and other areas of strength will be diluted. What we want to do is exactly what you said, large in terms of scale and strong in terms of profitability. We want to be big and profit making. That is the ultimate goal for us.
In terms of management and operational strategies, we've made adjustments from time to time because that is what we want to achieve. We continuously enhance our level of capability. We want to be big and strong. If you're only big but not strong, it's meaningless. If you just go after scale, at the end, you will forget about your original intention. If you're big, but you don't make any money, or because there are simply no more profit to make in the market. If the industry is big and it allows you to be profitable, you should pursue that goal. If you can never be strong, but you can only be big, what is the point? If it's all about market share, then what you have sacrificed, the price you have paid, is it worth doing? Is the risk too overwhelming?
If risk continues to be bigger and bigger, why do you want to be big? I'm sure many shareholders agree with you. Well, this is a global broadcast. Oh, dear shareholders, please believe in us. We will continue to pursue that. Thank you. Yes. Please give me some encouragement. Thank you, all. This is the end of today's presentation.