China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd.'s contracted property sales fell significantly to about HK$20.68 billion in September, less than half of the roughly HK$42.79 billion recorded in the year prior.

The company, along with its subsidiaries, joint venture and associates, sold approximately 1,254,000 square meters of property during the reporting month, lower compared to the roughly 2,376,800 square meters sold in 2016.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, contracted sales of the group amounted to about HK$183.64 billion, up from 2016's HK$171.46 billion. The nine-month contracted sales figure translates to approximately 11,288,200 square meters of sales area. Subscribed property sales, meanwhile, was logged at roughly HK$23.34 billion.

In the same reporting month, the group agreed to pay nearly 18.50 billion yuan for the purchase of 16 land parcels in China, with an estimated combined attributable gross floor area of 3,050,725 square meters. The company said five of the recently acquired assets will be developed into cooperation project.

As of Oct. 12, US$1 was equivalent to 6.59 Chinese yuan.