HK Stock Market Move | Link REIT (00823) falls over 5% again. The distribution per unit of the fund in the middle of the year dropped by 5.9% compared to the same period last year. The company expects to continue to be under pressure in the second half of the year.

Link REIT (00823) dropped more than 5% again. As of the press release, it dropped 5%, reporting 36.86 Hong Kong dollars, with a turnover of 1.68 billion Hong Kong dollars. On the news front, Link REIT announced its interim results for the period ended September this year. The total amount available for distribution decreased by 5.6% to 3.283 billion Hong Kong dollars compared to the previous year, with a distribution per unit decreasing by 5.9% to 126.88 cents. During the period, revenue decreased by 1.8% to 7.023 billion Hong Kong dollars, and net property income decreased by 3.4% to 5.178 billion Hong Kong dollars, mainly due to negative rental adjustment rates in Hong Kong and the mainland, reflecting pressure on the macro environment and the retail industry. Adrian Cheng, Chairman of the Link REIT Board of Directors, stated that the retail market in Hong Kong is under pressure, but leasing demand in the market is recovering, and he believes that retail sales data has bottomed out and is starting to improve. He further mentioned that since lease cycles are typically 3 years, there is a natural lag effect in rent adjustments to normal growth expectations, and it is expected that the second half of the year will continue to be under pressure.