Link REIT has completed its first asset enhancement programme on the Chinese mainland.

The milestone was marked by Link CentralWalk, Link REIT’s shopping mall asset that is located in Shenzhen’s Futian, which marked its re-opening on 16 January.

The three-year asset enhancement project cost the REIT some HKD350 million.

As part of the project, Link REIT has increased the total number of shops by about 20%.

And following the asset enhancement, the total green coverage ratio of Link CentralWalk has been raised by 10 percentage points to 43.1%.

The asset has achieved three green building qualifications – SITES Platinum Precertification, CS Platinum Certification of LEED V4 BD+C and the WELL Health-Safety Rating – all of which are expected to be officially certified during February and March 2022.

Since 2015, Link REIT has been progressively expanding its footprint in mainland China, which now comprises a portfolio of nine properties spanning retail, office and logistics facilities.

These are located in Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities in the Greater Bay Area including Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Presently, mainland China assets account for 16.8% of Link REIT's total portfolio value.

Link REIT was last done on the HKSE at HKD66.95, which presently implies a distribution yield of 4.78% according to data on the Hong Kong REITs table.