Are REITs Ready To Take Off In Hong Kong?

After years of debate and consolidation, Hong Kong's real estate investment trust (REIT) sector has still to take off. The government has tried to kick start the industry with regulatory changes such as dropping geographic restrictions, but so far no REIT has been successfully launched in Hong Kong. Everyone has been waiting for the listing of the Hong Kong Housing Authority's HK$32 billion Link REIT, but the IPO was aborted in December 2004 after a lawsuit from two public housing estate tenants, who objected to the possibility of sharp rent increases. The listing is not expected to take place before the end of 2005.