Zhengzhou-based real estate developer Xinyuan Real Estate Co. Ltd. (NYSE: XIN) announced preliminary 2008 first quarter results on Thursday. Xinyuan expects first quarter contracted sales to hit RMB 1.06 billion, compared with RMB 135 million in the first quarter of 2007. Xinyuan said that it sold 2,144 residential units in the first quarter, up from 297 units in the year-ago period. The company had contracted sales in five cities in the first quarter of 2008, compared to two cities in the first quarter of 2007.