Hong Kong’s Link Reit committed to China as it dismisses rumours of asset sales with Guangzhou mall opening
- Hong Kong-listed Link Reit opened the newly renovated mall in Guangzhou’s Tianhe district in September
- CEO George Hongchoy denies rumours that the company plans to sell some assets on mainland China, and said it remains focused on the Greater Bay Area
Link Reit, Asia’s largest real estate investment trust, has opened a renovated shopping mall in Guangzhou, a clear indication of its focus on mainland China, with a top executive firmly rejecting rumours of asset sales despite the prolonged economic recovery.
The Hong Kong-listed Reit acquired the shopping mall, located in the southern Chinese city’s core business district of Tianhe, for 3.2 billion yuan (US$451 million) in June 2021.
Renamed Link Plaza Tianhe, the shopping mall covers over 90,000 square metres with 1,000 car-parking spaces and 160 tenants. It is Link Reit’s sixth investment in mainland China and the fourth in the Greater Bay Area.
The bay area is a core focus area for Link Reit, said executive director and CEO George Hongchoy Kwok-lung. The company other mall in Shenzhen’s Futian district has witnessed high traffic during weekends, boosted by a considerable contribution from Hong Kong residents, he added.
Hongchoy also denied rumours that the company plans to sell a set of seven mainland assets, more than half of its portfolio on the mainland. He said there was no basis to the rumours, and added that Link Reit was always eyeing assets in China and elsewhere.
