Michael Smith, the current CEO of Hongkong Land, occupies an office with a view that has witnessed over a century of Hong Kong’s commercial evolution. It is the same vantage point where Percy Weatherall, a former CEO, once offered Smith a position decades ago, an offer Smith declined at the time due to prior commitments. Now, three decades later, Smith is at the helm of one of Hong Kong’s most venerable developers, facing the complex task of redefining its identity. His mandate, set by Jardine Matheson, the conglomerate controlling just over half of Hongkong Land’s shares, involves transforming the company from primarily a landlord into a fund manager, expanding its reach across Asia’s key urban centers.
This strategic pivot marks a significant shift for a company intrinsically linked to its home city since its founding in 1889. Hongkong Land has long been synonymous with Hong Kong’s Central district, holding 4.8 million square feet of prime office and retail space, including iconic properties like Exchange Square, Jardine House, and the Landmark retail complex. For many years, the company’s share price showed a 90% correlation with Hong Kong’s office rents, indicating investors primarily viewed it as a proxy for the city’s property market. This deep connection, however, limited the company’s perceived value, with shares trading at an 80% discount to net asset value, despite possessing what Smith describes as “incredible assets” and a strong brand.
The roots of Hongkong Land trace back to Catchick Paul Chater, a British businessman, and James Johnstone Keswick, the taipan of Jardine Matheson. Chater, a pivotal figure in Hong Kong’s early development, secured 65 acres of new waterfront reclamation shortly after the company’s inception, land that now hosts properties like Alexandra House and Prince’s Building. His influence extended to founding other foundational Hong Kong enterprises like Hongkong Electric Company and Dairy Farm, shaping the city both physically and culturally. Jardine Matheson consolidated its control over Hongkong Land in the 1980s, following a period of aggressive expansion that left the developer overextended. Smith, with his background in investment banking and experience with real estate investment trusts in Asia, was brought in to address these challenges. 
Upon joining Hongkong Land, Smith initiated a comprehensive plan to streamline operations and enhance capital discipline. This included winding down the residential build-to-sell business, divesting non-core assets, and reducing the company’s exposure to any single geography to below 40%. He noted that the company had accumulated 50 to 60 projects across various Asian markets without achieving substantial scale in any one area. The residential development segment, in particular, was deemed too susceptible to external factors, such as sudden changes in stamp duty rates that could undermine project feasibility.
A significant step in this new direction was the launch of the Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund (SCPREF) earlier this year, which now manages 8.2 billion Singapore dollars (approximately $6.3 billion USD) in assets. This fund incorporates Hongkong Land’s stakes in prominent Singaporean properties like Marina Bay Financial Centre Towers 1 and 2, One Raffles Quay, One Raffles Link, and Asia Square Tower 1. Notably, the Qatar Investment Authority, which previously owned Asia Square Tower 1, became a founding investor in SCPREF alongside Dutch pension giant APG Asset Management and an undisclosed Southeast Asian sovereign wealth fund. This initiative surprised many due to its scale and the speed of its execution for a first-time fund manager.
Hongkong Land aims to achieve $100 billion in assets under management by 2035, more than double its current figure, without issuing new equity or compromising its investment-grade rating. This strategy appears to be resonating with investors; the company’s shares, traded in London and Singapore, have climbed over 55% in the past year, surpassing their previous all-time high in January. The company reported a net profit of $1.3 billion in 2025, a turnaround from a $1.4 billion net loss in 2024, partly driven by an $890 million fair-value gain on investment property revaluations. While underlying profit, excluding non-trading items, saw an 8% dip to $458 million, the rental income figures reveal shifting dynamics: Hong Kong office and retail rents collectively dropped 7% between 2024 and 2025, while Singapore office rents rose 4%, and China retail climbed 27%. Despite these changes, Hong Kong still accounts for approximately 60% of Hongkong Land’s total rental income.
The city of Hong Kong itself is navigating a complex recovery, still grappling with the aftermath of prolonged COVID-zero policies and broader economic challenges in mainland China. Some foreign companies have relocated operations to other regional hubs like Singapore, while commercial and retail sectors face headwinds. Yet, Smith remains optimistic about Hongkong Land’s core Central properties, even as he seeks to diversify the company’s portfolio. He points to Grade A Central rents rising 3.5% in the first two months of 2026 and a noticeable inflection point in the past year, with falling vacancies in prime office assets. This optimism is partly fueled by Hong Kong’s broader economic rebound, with a 5.9% expansion in the first quarter of 2026 and a 12.8% year-on-year jump in retail sales in March. The city’s robust IPO market, which topped global league tables in 2025, also contributes to increased confidence and a “wealth effect” trickling into the retail sector, driven by local high-net-worth individuals rather than solely tourist spending. Beyond Hong Kong and Singapore, Smith envisions expanding into Tokyo, Seoul, and Sydney, focusing on creating integrated commercial ecosystems within city centers, rather than acquiring isolated properties.
