HKREITA x Deloitte H-REIT Thought Leadership Release Event

Hong Kong REITS Association Limited (HKREITA) and Deloitte China jointly released Unlocking Future Growth through Reform: A Vision for Hong Kong REIT Market, a market research report drawing on insights from REIT industry leaders and comparative analysis of major REIT jurisdictions to examine how regulatory enhancements, tax optimisation and market development measures can strengthen Hong Kong's REIT ecosystem.

In his welcome speech, George Hongchoy, Honorary Founding President & Chairman of HKREITA, Executive Director & Group Chief Executive Officer of Link Asset Management Limited, shared that the time is ripe for the Hong Kong Government to take a more proactive approach to unlock the potential of the H-REIT market and hoped HKREITA’s collaboration with Deloitte on the H-REIT report will provide industry players with insights and opportunities to discuss on the city’s status as Asia’s leading financial hub can be strengthened. He believed a more flexible framework would better support market participants and attract more diverse REIT listings and investments.

The launch event included a panel discussion on “Enhancing Competitiveness of H-REIT Market” moderated by Philip Law, National Real Estate Leader, Deloitte China, with the Board members of HKREITA being the panellists. They included George Hongchoy, Deliang Lin, Honorary Founding President of HKREITA, Chairman, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of Yuexiu REIT Asset Management Limited, Hubert Chak, Honorary Founding President of HKREITA, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of SF REIT Asset Management Limited and Kevin Leung, Director of HKREITA, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of Spring Asset Management Limited.

The four panellists proposed measures beneficial to the industry such as introduction of corporate REIT structures, flexible development and property holding rules, tax transparency treatment and lower stamp duty for REIT property transfers as key measures to enhance city's appeal. They also acknowledged that the upcoming Stock Connect inclusion and government support measures poised to strengthen market accessibility and boost investor participation.

The full report is available here.

Event Highlights:

High resolution pictures can be downloaded here.