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One of the country’s largest property developers, PT Ciputra Development, plans to expand into China with a residential project due to start next year, with revenue of about $1.3 billion expected to accrue over 12 years, the company said on Monday.

“The project, which consists of houses and high-rise units, promises a high profit margin of more than 40 percent gross, which is why we’re interested,” said Tulus Santoso, a Ciputra Development director.

The project will be located in Shenyang, a second-tier industrial city with a population of 9 million in northeast China’s Liaoning province. Construction and advance sales should begin in mid-2010, with investment totaling about $20 million in the first year. “We only have a one-third share, so we’ll be putting in about $6 million next year,” Tulus said.

The company expects to be receiving revenue from the project by 2011. “Our net profit in 2011 is expected to be between $6 million and $8 million,” Tulus said.

The project will include a total of 20,000 units, with the keys to the first 500 units — about 60 percent of them houses — to be delivered in 2011, he said. “In China, individual housing units can fetch three times the price of high-rise apartments.”

An analyst said the Chinese project appeared to offer an attractive opportunity for Ciputra Development, despite being smaller than most of its local developments.

“They’re a very conservative property firm. But considering that it should break even in about four years, it could turn out to be a rather profitable venture,” said Natalia Sutanto, a property market analyst at brokerage firm PT Ciptadana Sekuritas.

“We will have to see later how the China project performs as this is their first venture in China,” she added. “They’ve already been quite successful with their property developments in Vietnam and Cambodia.”

Tulus said Ciputra Development’s revenue was expected to amount to Rp 1.425 trillion ($151.1 million) this year, representing a slight decline from last year’s Rp 1.436 trillion. He said the company’s sales to the end of September stood at Rp 977 billion.

Meanwhile, net profit is expected to decline by about 25 percent this year to Rp 150 billion from last year’s figure of Rp 202 billion.

Last year’s figure was boosted by extraordinary foreign exchange gains.

Ciputra Development shares closed up Rp 20, or 3.64 percent, at Rp 570 on Monday.