(Bloomberg) — George Hongchoy plans to retire as head of Link Asset Management Ltd., the manager of Asia’s largest real estate investment trust.
Hongchoy, 63, will remain with the property firm as it searches for a successor, Hong Kong-based Link said in a statement Tuesday.
A former investment banker, Hongchoy joined Link in 2009 as chief financial officer before moving to the top job the following year. Link manages the Link REIT, which runs HK$226 billion ($29 billion) in assets across retail, office and logistics, according to its website.
Under Hongchoy’s tenure, the LINK REIT has more than doubled the Hang Seng Index, returning 10.2% a year including dividends, compared with a 5% annual gain for Hong Kong’s main equity gauge.
Over that time, Link has diversified its portfolio, which initially comprised low-end neighborhood malls in Hong Kong. It now also holds office buildings and shopping malls in mainland China, Australia, Singapore and the UK. Hongchoy has been one of the highest paid executives in Hong Kong, awarded annual pay of HK$70 million.
Link has also expanded into fund management. It hired John Saunders, former head of Asia-Pacific real estate at BlackRock Inc., last year to lead the operation known as Link Real Estate Partners.
“In a challenging market, Link’s continued resilience shows the underlying strength of the business,” Duncan Owen, chair of Link said in the statement. “We have good momentum in our efforts to grow and diversify our investment platform with the recent launch of Link Real Estate Partners.”
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