Mainland Chinese developers face uncertainty amid a sharp drop in property sales. Photo: AFP

Property giant China Vanke aims to raise HK$7.8 billion (US$1 billion) through a placement of new shares as it prepares to deal with a slowdown in the housing market.

Vanke, mainland China&rsquo s second-largest developer by sales, said it will place 263 million new shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange at a price of HK$29.68 apiece to raise HK$7.8 billion in capital.

The announcement on Thursday came as the mainland&rsquo s developers face uncertainty amid a sharp drop in property sales.

&ldquo They will not rake in the big bucks from selling homes this year as they have before,&rdquo said Toni Ho, an analyst at RHB OSK Securities Hong Kong. &ldquo It&rsquo s the best time [for the shares placement] now as the share prices are doing quite well, to get hold of sufficient money to have on hand, a healthier balance sheet and higher liquidity of its H shares to be in a better position to get funded onshore and offshore when the worst comes to the worst.&rdquo

H shares is the term given to stocks in mainland Chinese firms traded in Hong Kong.

Vanke has seen its shares surge 19 per cent this year, finishing Thursday at HK$31.55.

The share sale will cut Vanke&rsquo s net gearing ratio &ndash a measure of the proportion of borrowed funds to equity &ndash to 27 per cent, much lower than the industry average of 70 per cent.