{"id":220354,"date":"2021-03-30T19:29:37","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T11:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/?p=220354"},"modified":"2022-08-15T14:53:13","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T06:53:13","slug":"link-reit-ceo-says-sustainability-key-to-boosting-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/real-estate\/events\/past-events-real-estate\/link-reit-ceo-says-sustainability-key-to-boosting-returns\/","title":{"rendered":"Link REIT CEO George Hongchoy Says Sustainability Key to Boosting Returns"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"container-lazyload container-vimeo js-lazyload--not-loaded\"><a href=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/530620913?h=9fca14a54d\" id=\"530620913\" class=\"lazy-load-vimeo preview-lazyload preview-vimeo\" data-video-thumbnail=\"https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/1098503450-25dfdab6edf312b08f9fa7638606e54e2c4345580a9af7d16c19ad42fd4b8088-d_295x166\" data-video-title=\"Mingtiandi Asia Value-Add Forum 2021: Spotlight Interview with Link REIT CEO George Hongchoy\" title=\"Play video &quot;Mingtiandi Asia Value-Add Forum 2021: Spotlight Interview with Link REIT CEO George Hongchoy&quot;\">https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/530620913?h=9fca14a54d<\/a><noscript>Video can&#8217;t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: <a href=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/530620913?h=9fca14a54d\" title=\"Mingtiandi Asia Value-Add Forum 2021: Spotlight Interview with Link REIT CEO George Hongchoy\">Mingtiandi Asia Value-Add Forum 2021: Spotlight Interview with Link REIT CEO George Hongchoy (https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/530620913?h=9fca14a54d)<\/a><\/noscript><\/div>\n<p>MTD TV opened its Asia Value-Add Forum 2021 on Tuesday with a spotlight Interview featuring Link Asset Management <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/real-estate\/speaker-bio-george-hongchoy-of-link-reit\/\">CEO George Hongchoy<\/a>, who shared insights gained from running Asia\u2019s largest real estate investment trust.<\/p>\n<p>The one-on-one discussion with Mingtiandi founder Michael Cole revealed how the manager of Link REIT has continued to expand Greater China\u2019s largest retail portfolio through the pandemic, and also how a growing focus on sustainability has helped to boost returns on its more than HK$199 billion ($25.6 billion) portfolio.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jll.com.hk\/en\/invest-in-real-estate?utm_source=mtd&#038;utm_medium=ol&#038;utm_campaign=ap-hk-cm-investor-platform-q323&#038;utm_content=set-n&#038;utm_term=780x250\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"adv-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"N-780X250\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/N-780X250.gif\" alt=\"\"  width=\"780\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Fresh off last month\u2019s deal in which Link <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/real-estate\/china-retail-real-estate-news\/link-reit-buying-half-stake-in-shanghai-mall-from-vanke-jv\/\">agreed to acquire a half-stake in Shanghai Qibao Vanke Plaza shopping mall<\/a> \u2014 the REIT\u2019s fifth mainland retail investment \u2014 Hongchoy credited China\u2019s rapid and decisive response to the COVID-19 outbreak with keeping asset values steady in the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think there was some initial panic, but retail sales really bounced back quickly, the lockdown restrictions were eased very quickly,\u201d he told MTD TV. \u201cObviously there is still a lot of caution about how to be sure that the cases will not rebound, but China has provided a very stable environment for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Going Greener<\/h3>\n<p>Sustainability is shaping up to be a key investment metric this decade, and Link can point to big strides it has made in establishing a greener footprint for its Hong Kong portfolio.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_215472\" style=\"width: 398px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-215472\" class=\"wp-image-215472 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/George-Hongchoy-Link-REIT-388x400.jpg\" alt=\"George Hongchoy, Executive Director &amp; CEO, Link REIT\" width=\"388\" height=\"400\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-215472\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">George Hongchoy, Executive Director &amp; CEO, Link REIT<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIt has been a long journey,\u201d Hongchoy said. \u201cFor over 10 years we\u2019ve been looking at sustainability in terms of carbon reduction. Compared to the baseline of 2010, up until the end of 2020, we have already reduced our energy consumption in Hong Kong by 40 percent. That\u2019s no mean feat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For several years the REIT has adopted integrated reporting, in which progress on sustainability is incorporated into the annual report as a core gauge of the organisation\u2019s health. Link also took the lead in issuing some of Asia\u2019s first green bonds tied to eco-friendly improvements.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe mix of investors has certainly changed and gets greener as the years go by,\u201d Hongchoy said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot more support in Hong Kong.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Pandemic Outlook<\/h3>\n<p>When asked whether Greater China is poised for a sharp rebound as COVID vaccinations get into more arms and the pandemic fades further into the background, Link\u2019s CEO couldn\u2019t resist veering from the company line.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy corporate affairs colleague wrote down \u2018cautiously optimistic\u2019. I\u2019ve never liked those two words,\u201d Hongchoy joked. \u201cI\u2019m not an optimist; I\u2019m a realist. I look at what\u2019s going on and try to manage it. And I think there are a lot of reasons not to be too optimistic for 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/real-estate\/events\/oxford-ivanhoe-kic-savills-on-singapore-india-markets\/\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"adv-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"14 NOVEMBER 2023 conrad centennial Singapore\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/14-NOVEMBER-2023-conrad-centennial-Singapore.jpg\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/14-NOVEMBER-2023-conrad-centennial-Singapore.jpg 780w, https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/14-NOVEMBER-2023-conrad-centennial-Singapore-400x128.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/14-NOVEMBER-2023-conrad-centennial-Singapore-640x205.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" width=\"780\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The trust\u2019s revenue declined 1.9 percent to HK$5.2 billion ($674 million) during the period from 1 April through 30 September last year as the pandemic pushed net property income down 0.8 percent to HK$4.0 billion. Link REIT is due to complete its financial year on 31 March.<\/p>\n<p>You can watch the full interview with George Hongchoy above.<\/p>\n<h3>China Panel Up Next<\/h3>\n<p>Mingtiandi\u2019s deep dive into value-add opportunities <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/real-estate\/events\/panel-value-add-china-strategies-for-achieving-core\/\">will continue on Wednesday 7 April<\/a> with a group discussion of how \u201cbuy, fix and sell\u201d works in mainland China, where the challenges of site acquisition in core cities such as Shanghai and Beijing have been creating openings for investors able to acquire and reposition ageing assets in key locations.<\/p>\n<p>Joining us for next week\u2019s discussion will be Gaw Capital managing director Johnny Shao, who leads the fund manager\u2019s China operations from Shanghai; Don Tan, managing director for fund management with Kailong; Francis Li, head of capital markets for Greater China at Cushman &amp; Wakefield, and Megan Hu, managing director of mainland private equity real estate firm WorldUnion Investment.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.asia\/Resource\/?resource=Technology+Transformation+in+Asian+Real+Estate+%28White+Paper%29&#038;utm_source=mingtiandi&#038;utm_medium=website&#038;utm_campaign=wp23ttare\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"adv-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Yardi &#8211; Asia Proptech Report 2023 v1_250\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Yardi-Asia-Proptech-Report-2023-v1_250.gif\" alt=\"\"  width=\"780\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The value-add forum will wrap up on 12 April with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/real-estate\/events\/panel-re-use-and-regeneration-in-asias-core-markets\/\">a panel focusing on Asia\u2019s core cities outside mainland China<\/a>, including case studies from projects in Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul and more.<\/p>\n<p>The core cities panel features contributions from Stephen Tang, head of value-add and opportunistic real estate for Asia Pacific at ARA Asset Management; Andrew MacPherson, head of asset development for Asia Pacific at JLL; Gordon Marsden, regional director for APAC capital markets at Cushman &amp; Wakefield; and Jason Lee, chief investment officer for APAC at AEW.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"container-lazyload container-vimeo js-lazyload--not-loaded\">https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/530620913?h=9fca14a54dVideo can&#8217;t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Mingtiandi Asia Value-Add Forum 2021: Spotlight Interview with Link REIT CEO George Hongchoy (https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/530620913?h=9fca14a54d)<\/div>\n<p>MTD TV opened its Asia Value-Add Forum 2021 on Tuesday with a spotlight Interview featuring&#8230;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/real-estate\/events\/past-events-real-estate\/link-reit-ceo-says-sustainability-key-to-boosting-returns\/\">Read&nbsp;More>><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9671,"featured_media":220355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4092],"tags":[5382,5359,4553,6502,4810,8380,8400,5627],"ppma_author":[8847],"authors":[{"term_id":8847,"user_id":9671,"is_guest":0,"slug":"christopher-caillavet","display_name":"Christopher Caillavet","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/500c291c35a85a2ad5827cf7c6d198e1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Caillavet","first_name":"Christopher","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220354"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9671"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220354"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mingtiandi.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=220354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}