Exclusive | Link Reit may sell 20 Hong Kong shopping malls to take advantage of record property prices

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This image shows the interior of the newly renovated Siu Sai Wan market with high end features as of December 2015.Photo: SCMP/JONATHAN WONG

Sandy Li

Published: 5:29pm, 26 Jul 2017Updated: 11:23pm, 26 Jul 2017

Link Reit, Hong Kong’s first real estate investment trust, is considering a plan to sell more than 20 retail shopping centres around the city, the latest landlord to put its property portfolio on the market, after a crucial land sale in May established a new benchmark for commercial prices in the world’s most expensive market.

The sale, which would be Link Reit’s largest asset disposal since its 2004 establishment, could raise between HK$15 billion and up to HK$20 billion (US$2.57 billion), according to valuers familiar with the plan.

Link Reit shares fall after 4b yuan acquisition of Guangzhou shopping mall

Link Reit is Asia’s biggest real estate investment trust by capitalisation, owning 155 shopping centres and wet markets in public housing estates around the city, plus 69,000 car parking lots. It also owns 3 million square feet (278,710 square metres) of retail and office space in mainland China.

The company declined to comment on the possible sale but said “it intends to conduct a strategic review of its entire property portfolio to maximise its value.”

Link Asset Management, the manager of Link Reit, appointed Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp, UBS AG and DTZ Cushman & Wakefield to assess its strategic options, according to a Wednesday statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Shares of the company, which have risen sixfold since their November 2005 initial public offering, dropped 0.8 per cent on Wednesday to HK$61.00.