The Link Real Estate Investment Trust

06/01/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/31/2022 22:49

Link Announces Management Appointments

Link Asset Management Limited (Link), the manager of Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Link REIT; Hong Kong stock code: 823), is pleased to announce the appointment of three seasoned executives to its management team: Ronald Tham joins Link as Chief Corporate Development Officer; Haiqun Zhu as Managing Director - Mainland China; and Kenny Lam as Chief Investment Officer - Strategic Investment.

Both Mr Tham and Mr Lam report to George Hongchoy, Link's Chief Executive Officer. Mr Zhu reports to Kok-siong Ng, Link's Chief Financial Officer, who has the overall executive responsibility for the Mainland market.

The new joiners, together with Chief Operating Officer - International Greg Chubb, who joined Link in April this year, Link has strengthened its management bandwidth and capability to tap into future opportunities.

Mr Hongchoy said: "Link is a leading real estate investor and asset manager in the Asia Pacific region. These senior appointments will put us in an even better position to tap into the business prospects that the region presents. By further leveraging our platform and scale, we can capture both organic and inorganic growth opportunities and look to the future with even more confidence."

As Link's Chief Corporate Development Officer, Mr Tham is responsible for the group's corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and capital transactions.

Mr Tham has extensive experience in real estate investment, management and development, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate and investment banking and accounting and finance. Prior to joining Link, he was an Executive Director of Lai Sun Group and has held senior positions in multinational and global financial institutions, namely Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Swire Group, HSBC Global Banking and Macquarie Capital, with responsibility for the execution of multijurisdictional corporate actions and with an operational remit spanning Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore and internationally.

Mr Tham is a fellow member of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  He is also a member of the Hong Kong Securities Institute. He holds a Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College, University of London in the United Kingdom.

In his new role as Managing Director for Mainland China, Mr Zhu oversees Link's Mainland operations and is responsible for asset management, leasing, operation and other work relating to commercial and corporate function. His role also supports the identification and execution of merger and acquisition opportunities.

Mr Zhu has extensive experience in real estate set-up and expansion, commercial and operational asset management, asset enhancement and capital management. Before joining Link, Mr Zhu was a Partner and Vice President at SCPG, a member company of Vanke Group. He had also served as Deputy General Manager, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of SCPG Capital since joining the company in 2003. Prior to that, he worked at Shenzhen International Trust & Investment, where he was involved in finance and investment-related matters. Mr Zhu holds a Bachelor in International Finance and Business from Shenzhen University, and an MBA in Finance from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He was also a visiting scholar at Baruch College of the City University of New York.

Mr Lam, who joins today as Chief Investment Officer - Strategic Investment, is responsible for strategic investment, mergers and acquisitions and portfolio management.

A real estate investment veteran, before joining Link, Mr Lam was the Senior Managing Director, Asia Chief Investment Officer and Head of Asia Transaction at Manulife Investment Management - Real Estate. Prior to that, he was the Chief Manager of Direct Investment at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority responsible for its global real estate investment portfolio. Earlier in his career, he held real estate investment and investment banking roles at Ping An Real Estate, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Citigroup Global Markets. Mr Lam holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil and Structural Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Link also announces that Eric Yau has stepped down from his role of Chief Strategy Officer for sabbatical, after a tenure of 12 years.

"Eric has played an instrumental role in our growth and transformation. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Eric for his tremendous contribution and wish him all the best in his future endeavours," Mr Hongchoy said.

Portraits of Mr Tham, Mr Zhu and Mr Lam can be downloaded here.

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About Link

Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Hong Kong stock code: 823), managed by Link Asset Management Limited, is the largest REIT in Asia, and a leading real estate investor and asset manager in the world. Listed in 2005 as the first REIT in Hong Kong, Link has been 100% held by public and institutional investors and is a Hang Seng Index constituent stock. From its home in Hong Kong, Link owns and manages a diversified portfolio including retail facilities, car parks, offices and logistics assets spanning China's Beijing, Greater Bay Area (Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen), and Yangtze River Delta centred around Shanghai, the UK's London and Australia's Sydney and Melbourne. Link seeks to extend its portfolio growth trajectory and grasp expansion opportunities in different markets in pursuit of its medium-term target Vision 2025.

For details, please visit https://www.linkreit.com.