HONG KONG, March 1 (Reuters) - Hong Kong property developer New World Development agreed to sell a local shopping mall with 1,000 parking spaces for HK$4.02 billion ($514 million) to rival Chinachem Group, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Friday.

The announcement comes one day after New World said it had raised its target for disposing of non-core assets in the financial year to end-June by 33% to HK$8 billion.

The deal is the biggest commercial property transaction since November, and the biggest for a retail shopping space since 2018, according to data from property consultant Colliers.

New World has one of the highest debt ratios in Hong Kong's property sector, and its de-leveraging plan has been in the spotlight in the past year.

The transaction price is in line with the market, given it is not easy to find buyers for large ticket assets in a high-interest environment, said Tom Ko, head of capital markets for property firm Cushman & Wakefield.

New World shares fell 6.8% on Friday, the day after it posted a 12% rise in core profit for the six months through December and declared an interim dividend 56.5% smaller than a year ago.

The deal also came after a major policymove this week that boosted market sentiment, although Chinachem and New World seller have been in discussions for months on the sale.

"The latest loosening measures could stimulate more transactions in office and retail properties because investors are now allowed to borrow more financing," said Kathy Lee, Colliers head of research.

"For investors who are holding multiple assets, it could help to improve their liquidity."

($1 = 7.8279 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Tom Hogue)