The Link Management Limited , as the manager of The Link Real Estate Investment Trust (“The Link REIT”; Hong Kong stock code: 823), today announced that it will hold an Extraordinary General Meeting on 15 January 2015 to seek approval from unitholders to expand its investment strategy to permit property development and related activities and related amendments to the trust deed.

In pursuing the expanded investment strategy, The Link REIT will adhere to: (1) investing in properties for long-term holding; (b) focusing on properties with sustainable income growth and long-term capital appreciation potential; and (c) maintaining a large and diversified portfolio of retail and/or commercial properties.

Following the amendments to the Securities and Futures Commission’s Code on Real Estate Investment Trusts in August 2014, The Link REIT proposes to expand its investment strategy which would allow it to undertake property development and related activities in respect of all types of developments that contain retail and/or commercial portions, provided that the aggregate development costs of such activities shall not exceed 10% of the gross asset value of its property portfolio.  The ability to undertake property development and related activities will, when taken together with existing permitted activities, give The Link REIT a full range of growth drivers encompassing:

(a) asset enhancement to properties with further income growth potential;
(b) asset management of the entire portfolio;
(c) acquisition of quality assets with both income and capital growth potential;
(d) capital recycling through disposal of non-core assets;
(e) property development to design, build and hold; and
(f) re-development of existing properties for long-term sustainable growth.

The ability to build retail and/or commercial assets (together with asset acquisition and disposal) enables The Link REIT to accelerate the optimisation of the asset portfolio. These drivers complement each other by adding different capabilities at different points in time and together they enable The Link REIT to drive its growth at various stages of its development.

For more details about the Special Resolution to be proposed at the Extraordinary General Meeting, please refer to the Circular at: http://www.thelinkreit.com/EN/investor/Documents/e%20Circular.pdf