(Yicai) Dec. 20 -- China’s large real estate developers are speeding up the pace of asset disposals, selling office buildings, hotels, projects under development, and even shares in companies, to raise much-needed funds.

Key developers were involved in 24 asset transactions last month, including nine related-party deals, raising about CNY20.1 billion (USD2.8 billion), a more than 60 percent increase on November, data from China Real Estate Information showed. Many state-owned builders also put assets up for sale, including a significant number of high-quality assets they were unwilling to sell before.

This month has seen six deals worth over CNY8.3 billion (USD1.2 billion), according to Yicai’s calculations. They include Wang Jianlin, founder and chairman of real estate giant Dalian Wanda Group, selling a 51 percent stake in Wanda Film Holding, a key asset held by China’s former richest man, for CNY2.2 billion.

Among the recent disposals are other high-quality assets. The Bulgari Hotel Shanghai was put on the market in October by Overseas Chinese Town Asia Holdings, a Hong Kong-based developer backed by state-owned firms, and that same month China Jinmao Holdings Group, another state-owned builder, sold its five-star Westin Hotel in a business district of Beijing.

An employee at one developer actively selling assets told Yicai that his company aims to shrink its balance sheet and slim down. By transferring small stakes in projects to partners, the firm can guarantee early income, recover funds, and avoid spending more on the projects later, the person added.

Developers face poor sales, falling asset values, and a very tough financing environment, while year-end is also the peak season for debt maturity and payments to contractors, Yuan Chengjian, head of consultancy Jiancheng, told Yicai.

At the same time, builders are under pressure to meet their annual performance targets, noted Liu Shui, director of enterprise research at China Index Academy. Asset sales can ease cash flow, and if a sale incurs a loss, it can be booked in the current year, alleviating the financial pressure on the firm next year, Liu added.

With more developers offloading hotels, potential buyers are becoming choosier, preferring assets in first-tier and key destination cities such as Sanya and Xi’an, according to Wei Junya, vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle's hotels and hospitality group in China. He expects hotel sales to top CNY20 billion this year, versus an average of about CNY15 billion in previous years.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev