HONG KONG, Jun 30, 2023 – (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) – Yuexiu Real Estate Investment Trust (“Yuexiu REIT”, together with Yuexiu REIT Asset Management Limited, stock code: 405. HK) received the “Best ESG (Social) Award” for its outstanding social responsibility performance at the 9th Hong Kong Investor Relations Awards (the “Awards”) organized by the Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA), speaking volumes to the high recognition it enjoys for its ESG efforts in the investment community.
The Awards this year with 15 categories, attracted 126 well-known Hong Kong-listed companies to participate and 41 of them won awards. The winners were selected after two rounds of voting, which took place between March 21 and April 27, by more than 740 qualified voters, including buy-side and sell-side analysts and fund managers, and over 290 professional financial institutions-together with Link REIT, Fortune REIT, Sunlight REIT, SF REIT and Champion REIT won awards at the ceremony, Yuexiu REIT won the “Best ESG (Social) Award”, recognizing and affirming its ESG endeavors.
For seven years since 2016, Yuexiu REIT has released its “Environmental, Social and Governance Report”, and at the same time, it has continued to promote the organic integration of ESG concepts into its business models. Heeding the diverse scenarios involving business partners, employees, merchants and the public, Yuexiu REIT has built a green development ecology and led the ESG innovation trend in the commercial real estate sector. In 2022, Yuexiu REIT’s outstanding ESG performance was recognized and recommended to investors by many rating agencies, with its MSCI ESG rating upgraded to “BB”, GRESB rating upgraded to “Green Four-Star”, and it scoring “A” grade for public disclosure (the highest of disclosure standard) for two consecutive years, and its first “Low Risk” ESG rating from Sustainalytics, which is also the “Highest ESG Rating for Asia-Pacific Area in 2023”. In addition, its green and sustainable debt financing amount reached record high. As at the end of 2022, the proportion of green and sustainable-related debts of the REIT was 38.5%, and it will keep optimizing green and sustainable debt financing.
Regarding corporate social responsibility, the REIT is committed to creating the greatest value for employees, customers and the society, and adhering to the concept of sustainable development in promoting continuous social progress. The “YEService” system is implemented across all its properties to ensure customers are provided with services that are comfortable, safe and efficient, and caring. In addition to supporting community development, Yuexiu REIT fosters public well-being by making donations of materials, buying produce from farmers to support their livelihood and agriculture. It also pools resources by collaborating with neighborhoods, communities and volunteer groups and takes full advantage of its influence to hold for charity exhibitions and interactive activities, such as markets for munificent causes, concerts, theme salons, to encourage more people to pay attention to and partake in charitable activities.
As a real estate investment trust focusing on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong markets, Yuexiu REIT sees strategic importance in building ESG capacity and regards it as a key handhold for enhancing core competitiveness. The award win has led Yuexiu REIT to believe that the integration of commercial real estate and ESG has become an important way to enhance the value of assets from the perspectives of green buildings, energy conservation and carbon reduction, service improvement, and risk prevention. Yuexiu REIT will continue to focus on taking its sustainable development strategies to greater depth and put ESG concepts into practice, and together with investors create a sustainable future. Besides, Yuexiu REIT stays connected to communities and provide venues for all kinds of charity activities, and continuously strengthen the goal of social welfare from volunteer team building.
About Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA)
Founded in 2008, Hong Kong Investor Relations Association is a non-profit professional association comprising investor relations practitioners and corporate executives, with the aim of fostering communication between corporate management and the investment community. Most of its members work in companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Among Hang Seng Index constituent stocks,64% are members of the association. The HKIRA Investor Relations Awards (the “IR Awards”), which was established by the association in 2015, is well-recognized by the Hong Kong investment community for its professional, rigorous and fair selection system and high credibility. Candidates have to be nominated by the public, then voted on by professionals including qualified domestic and foreign fund managers, securities analysts. Its aim is to honor and reward individuals and companies for their high-standard investor relations work, making them worthy role models to the investment community.
About Yuexiu Real Estate Investment Trust
Yuexiu Real Estate Investment Trust (“Yuexiu REIT”) was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 21 December 2005 and is the first listed real estate investment trust only investing in properties in the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”) in the world. The current property portfolio comprises ten high quality properties, namely Guangzhou International Finance Center, White Horse Building, Fortune Plaza, City Development Plaza, Victory Plaza, Yuexiu Financial Tower in Guangzhou, Yuexiu Tower in Shanghai, Wuhan Properties in Wuhan (including Wuhan Yuexiu Fortune Centre and Starry Victoria Shopping Centre), Victory Business Centre in Hangzhou and Yuexiu Building in Hong Kong, with a total area of ownership of approximately 1.184 million sq.m. All properties are located in the central business district of Guangzhou, Shanghai, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Hong Kong respectively. The categories of the properties include Grade-A offices, commercial complexes, retail business, hotel, serviced apartments and professional clothing market etc.
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