Hong Kong malls landlord Link Reit is discussing rent relief with tenants at 10 protest-hit shopping centres, company says

Link Reit, Asia’s largest real estate investment trust, is discussing rent relief with tenants at 10 of its malls in Hong Kong, it said during the announcement of its interim results on Wednesday. The city’s ongoing anti-government protests have disrupted transport and forced many shops to close early or stay closed for days.

“Out of the 126 properties that we have in Hong Kong, we have around 10 properties where we have seen the need to have discussions with our tenants, and we’re doing that on a tenant-by-tenant basis, depending on times of closure,” said Nicholas Allen, the chairman of Link Asset Management, Link Reit’s manager.

“We’re very conscious that some of our tenants are facing some hardship, and we’re trying very hard to work with them to help them through the process.”

The malls affected by the increasingly violent clashes between protesters and police are close to protest-hit areas, police stations or are frequented by mainland Chinese shoppers. Otherwise, sales at all of the trust’s shopping centres actually rose by about 1.5 per cent in the six months ending September.

Link Reit announced its net income for the period rose 8.5 per cent to HK$4.07 billion (US$519.6 million), while revenue rose 7.8 per cent to HK$5.3 billion. The company declared an 8.3 per cent increase in interim distribution per unit to HK$1.4147. On Wednesday, its shares closed at HK$81.1, down by about 1.5 per cent.