HONG KONG, Sept 2 Reuters Shares in major Hong Kong property developer New World Development plunged 13 after it estimated a net loss of as much as HK20 billion 2.6 billion for the financial year that ended in June.

The shares closed at HK6.83 on Monday, another 21year low.

The company said in a Friday filing it expected core operating profit from continuing operations to fall as much as 23 due to a lack of revenue, with fair value and impairment losses of as much as HK9.5 billion.

Together with the continuous interest rate hikes experienced during the year as well as the depreciation of the renminbi, the group expects to record a net loss, it said.

The company said the provisions were oneoff noncash and unrealised items, and do not affect the group39;s cash flow.

New World has one of the highest debttoequity ratios among Hong Kong39;s property developers, and its plan to cut debt has been closely watched over the past year.

While Hong Kong has not seen the major defaults on debt by property developers seen in mainland China, investors worry about weakening liquidity for the sector due to sluggish residential and commercial property markets.

New World39;s fullyear loss estimate follows a firsthalf net loss of HK7.4 billion.

JPMorgan analysts said in a note that New World39;s loss is not as drastic as the headline suggests, and that its proforma core net loss may only be HK2 billion3 billion if noncash items like the impairment loss are excluded.

For New World…