CR Land will ride out patch of weak sentiment, analysts say

State-owned China Resources Land (CR Land) is still a top pick for investors in the mainland's property sector, analysts said, although a corruption investigation into a former chairman of its parent company has cast a shadow on its share performance for the time being.

The developer's former executive director, Wang Hongkun, was detained, along with Wu Ding, the chief executive of China Resources Capital, immediately after the mainland's anticorruption authorities announced on April 17 that they were investigating former China Resources group chairman Song Lin.

"It's uncertain how wide this investigation will eventually be," said Zhu Yiming, an analyst with China Real Estate Information Corp.

"It has so far only affected market sentiment but left the company fundamentals intact.

"If the investigation widens to affect the management team's business strategies, uncertainties will then increase."

CR Land shares closed 1.8 per cent higher yesterday at HK$15.84 but have fallen 5.49 per cent since trading resumed after the Easter holiday.

"Management personnel changes cause only short-term headwinds," said Edison Bian, the research head for China property at UOB Kay Hian.