page_title: Link REIT
section_title: Government response
hierarchical_section_title: Link REIT / Government response
caption_attribution_description: 中文（香港）‎: 香港候任特首林鄭月娥。(美國之音湯惠芸)
context_page_description: Link Real Estate Investment Trust, managed by Link Asset Management Limited, is the first real estate investment trust in Hong Kong and currently the largest in Asia in terms of market capitalisation. It is wholly owned by private and institutional investors.
  Link REIT's portfolio consists of properties with about 8 million sq ft of retail space, around 56,000 car park spaces, and a project under development in Hong Kong, as well as properties with about 5 million sq ft of retail and office space in Mainland China.
context_section_description: Link REIT has been widely condemned by officials on both sides of the political spectrum. Starry Lee, chairperson of the pro-Beijing DAB, reported that former chief executive Leung Chun-ying "strongly criticised" Link REIT in a meeting with the DAB. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Leung questioned whether the remuneration structure for top management of Link REIT had led to the trust's behaviour. He said that, as the previous owner of the public housing commercial space, the Hong Kong government has a responsibility to public housing tenants "to satisfy their needs and if necessary to provide alternatives to Link REIT properties". He said that a Link REIT monopoly in public estates was not acceptable as elderly tenants could not be expected to carry their heavy shopping to and from other markets. He said there was no plan to buy back the Link, but the government could explore providing alternatives if the Link was not serving nearby residents.
  Carrie Lam, now chief executive, was reported in 2016 (while she was chief secretary) to have called Link REIT one of the "three mountains" – i.e. one of the major sources of contention in Hong Kong society – that the government sought to conquer. Lam stated that the government should explore different avenues toward tackling the problem, including launching a potential legal battle against the company.
  Similarly, in April 2019, legislator Alice Mak moved a motion in the Legislative Council urging the government to "overcome the 'three big mountains'" that she wrote had plagued the local community, one of which is Link REIT. Various other legislators moved motions to this amendment suggesting means of tackling the problem, including amending the Housing Ordinance to regulate rent increases; constructing more public markets and bazaars to diminish Link REIT's commercial monopoly in many areas, and provide residents with greater shopping choices; creating a dedicated team within the Lands Department to inspect Link REIT properties, and to conduct enforcement against violations of land lease conditions by the company; and buying back Link REIT properties and placing them back under government management.
caption: Carrie Lam, now chief executive, has called Link REIT one of the "three mountains" facing Hong Kong society
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