HONG KONG, 16 January 2012 - The board of directors of 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, pursuant to the terms
of the sale and purchase agreement dated 22 December 2011,
the acquisition of the retail podium on the ground floor and
upper ground floor of Maritime Bay (the "Property")
was completed, marking the second asset acquisition of The
Link REIT since its IPO in 2005, and increasing its portfolio
size to 182 assets.
Mr George Hongchoy, Chief Executive Officer of The Link
Management Limited, said, "After the completion of the
Maritime Bay acquisition today, we will determine the
overall strategy, study the shopping needs of the residents
in the area, maximize the potential of the centre, create
synergistic value with other neighbouring centres currently
owned by The Link REIT, and bring more and better choices
to the residents."
Maritime Bay is located at 18 Pui Shing Road, Tseung Kwan
O. The Property has a gross floor area of approximately
63,466 square feet. The Property is currently fully-let,
with tenant-mix covering principally services, food and
beverage and supermarket. Completed in 1998, the
Property is part of Maritime Bay, a composite development
with two blocks of residential apartments over a podium,
shopping arcade and car park spaces on the ground floor and
upper ground floor, and car park spaces on the basement
floor. The Link Management Limited will engage
tenants, nearby residents and other stakeholders in
communication to keep them informed on matters relating to
the transfer of ownership of the Property.
New Financing
Mr Hongchoy further said The Link REIT has recently issued
a HK$500 million 15-year bond through our medium term note
programme at a coupon rate of 3.73%.
Mr Hongchoy commented, "This is one of the longest
maturity debt issued by REITs in Asia in recent
years. The issue of the 15-year bond is part of our
ongoing capital management strategy to lengthen debt
maturity for The Link REIT. Our credit rating stands
as one of the strongest in the industry, and we have
sufficient cash and facilities on hand to satisfy our
ongoing operational needs as well as any future acquisition
requirements."