The head of the Ciputra Group says the property conglomerate wants to increase its marketing sales by 80 percent to Rp 10 trillion (US$1.09 billion) in 2011 from developments in and outside Indonesia.

“The projects include budget hotels and hospital developments as well as three projects in other countries: Vietnam, Cambodia and China,” Ciputra Group chief executive officer Candra Ciputra said on Tuesday.

The Ciputra Group’s corporate secretary Tulus Santoso said that the conglomerate’s overseas projects would only contribute 20 percent to the firm’s marketing sales target for 2012.

“Projects in China will contribute Rp 1 trillion while projects both in Vietnam and Cambodia will contribute Rp 1 trillion,” Tulus said.

The conglomerate has developed a township in Vietnam, the Ciputra Hanoi International City, launched in 2002, and one in Cambodia, called the Grand Phnom Penh International City, launched in 2006.

The company’s project in China, the Grand Shenyang International City, will comprise five clusters over 313 hectares when it is launched in October.

According to Candra, the Ciputra Group would remain focused on its projects in Cambodia, China and Vietnam instead of expanding to other nations in the Asia-Pacific region.

“The situation in Myanmar, for example, remains unclear, while development in Laos will only be on a small size. For overseas projects, we are focusing on large-scale developments,” Candra said.

As of the end of March, Ciputra Group reported booking Rp 1.66 billion in marketing sales.

Candra said that he expected that PT Ciputra Development (CTRA), a holding company for firms under the Ciputra Group, would increase revenue between 50 and 60 percent this year.

If the target is realized, CTRA will book Rp 3.49 trillion in revenue in 2012, a 60 percent increase over the Rp 2.18 trillion the holding company booked in 2011.

CTRA’s subsidiaries listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) — PT Ciputra Property (CTRP) and PT Ciputra Surya (CTRS) — are also expecting significant growth this year.

CTRP recently said that it aimed to book Rp 902 billion in revenue and Rp 223 billion in net profits this year.

Meanwhile, CTRS said it was expecting to book Rp 1 trillion in revenue this year, up 24 percent from Rp 805 billion in 2011.

“We hope that the net-profit margin will be about 20 percent of revenue,” CTRS director Nanik Santoso said.

Tulus added that the Ciputra Group’s sales would be affected, albeit not too seriously, by a recently issued Bank Indonesia policy stipulating that customers seeking mortgage financing from banks must pay a minimum down payment of 30 percent of the value of the home to be purchased.

“We are optimistic for growth this year because demand for housing remain strong,” Tulus said, adding that housing prices in Indonesia were still less expensive than in other countries.

Housing development comprises 90 percent of the Ciputra Group’s business portfolio. (*/Jakarta Post)