Link Reit takes cue from government’s coronavirus relief package, expands tenant support scheme to US$39 million
- Link Reit, which manages 126 properties across Hong Kong, has increased its support for tenants from HK$80 million to HK$300 million
- Some 1,900 tenants have benefited from the scheme introduced in February
Link Reit, the biggest real estate investment trust in Asia, said that it would expand the support package for its tenants hit by the coronavirus outbreak to HK$300 million (US$38.69 million) from HK$80 million announced in February.
“The board of directors has approved that we substantially expand our support scheme to echo the government’s economic relief package,” Nicholas Allen, chairman of the board, said on Friday.
Link’s move comes after Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Wednesday unveiled the city’s biggest coronavirus relief package so far, worth HK$137.5 billion (US$17.4 billion), to save ailing businesses and ensure some 1.5 million workers continue to get paid at least for the next six months.
Hong Kong’s economy is already in recession, having been hit by the social unrest in the second half of 2019. Now, the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected close to 1,000 people and claimed 4 lives, is piling additional pressure as the government forces many businesses to shut down to contain the outbreak.
Since Link established the HK$80 million support scheme in mid-February, some 1,900 tenants have benefited from the programme. These tenants account for more than a third of its rental income in Hong Kong. For the year ended March, 2019, Link’s gross rental income was HK$9 billion.
Link Reit manages a portfolio of 126 properties totalling 8.7 million sq ft of retail facilities and offices, and 57,000 car parking spaces in Hong Kong.
