Eyewitness to Link’s
Legendary Growth:
Interview with Chief
Strategy Officer Eric Yau
見証領展神話的誕生：
專訪首席策略總監
丘兆祺

Link’s unique corporate strategy has played a key role in its phenomenal growth. As Chief Strategy Officer, a newly-created role in Link, Eric Yau is charged with overseeing the development and execution of corporate strategic initiatives, as well as all functions covering external affairs. A long-serving senior executive who joined Link in 2010, Eric’s wealth of experience and skills in investment banking and corporate management stand him in good stead, as he helps chart the company’s strategic direction and maintain strong relationships with external stakeholders.

Link’s Legendary Growth Path

An eyewitness to Link's remarkable transformation, Eric’s history with the company began in 2003 when he worked as a banker advising the Housing Authority for Link’s IPO. Assisting in setting Link’s business direction and corporate structure, he recalled, “Link changed overnight from a government agency to a sizable investor-owned company upon listing. It was a mammoth undertaking to transform the team and assets especially in Link’s early years. Thanks to our forward-looking management approach, we have had great success in enhancing operational efficiency and portfolio quality in our 13-year history.”

Building on this outstanding track record calls for visionary leadership and an innovative mindset. Eric said, “One key aspect of my role is to consider where we want to be in the next five to ten years, and help formulate development plans to take us there.” In order to effectively carry out his role, Eric stays up to speed on the ever-changing business landscape and challenges by distilling insights from diverse information sources, including news reports, investor commentaries and research articles.

Breaking through the Barriers

Highlighting the importance of strategic evolution, he noted, “While asset management and asset enhancement are the two key business drivers that have served us well since our founding, in recent few years we have achieved breakthroughs in business diversification and greatly enhanced our portfolio by entering new geographical markets and new asset classes, and by expanding our role in the property life cycle through property development. Looking ahead, while mainland China is a key source of growth in the short term, it is important to keep an international outlook as part of our longer-term planning.”

Link needs to remain an agile, adaptive, closely-knit team to rise up to the challenges ahead, noted Eric. In mainland China, where e-tailing is a growing threat, we are adapting by enhancing experiential elements at our properties. In Hong Kong, given the evolving retail landscape, we have turned T.O.P into a lifestyle hub that offers a complete ‘New Retail’ experience by melding on-line and off-line shopping with technology.”

Link’s strong investor following is a major endorsement of our development path. Eric said, “Investors believe in Link because we have strong corporate governance, high transparency and frequent communication which are critical to fostering greater understanding. Unlike many of our peers in Hong Kong, we are not family owned, so our investors are really our owners. We see keeping our investors well-informed about our business development as an imperative, not a choice.”

“It has been an amazing experience for all of us who are part of this journey. It is encouraging to see our team getting better year by year, taking Link ever closer to its vision of being a world-class real estate investor and manager, serving and improving the lives of those around us. Backed by our highly-skilled team and strong financial position, we are now more equipped than ever to explore new directions and continue Link’s remarkable growth story,” he said.


領展獨特的企業策略對於提升業務表現至關重要。丘兆祺(Eric)出任領展新設的首席策略總監一職，負責制訂公司策略和實施長遠發展計劃，並監督外部事務相關職能。Eric 在2010年加入領展，於投資銀行和企業管理方面歷練豐富，以其廣博知識及經驗，協助公司制定策略方向，並強化與外部持份者的關係。

領展增長神話

Eric見證公司過去透過創新求變，取得驕人成就。他早於2003年已跟領展結緣，作為銀行家，他當時協助房委會將領展（時稱領匯）上市，並參與制定公司的業務方向和企業架構。他說：「上市後領展一夜之間由政府機構轉變為由投資者持有的大型企業，特別於公司成立早年，於優化團隊組織及物業資產方面有大量工作，挑戰極大。憑藉我們前瞻的管理方針，過去13年以來，在提高營運效率和投資組合質素方面均有長足進展。」

要保持連年佳績有賴具遠見的領導力及積極求變的思維。Eric說：「工作重點之一是考慮公司未來五至十年的目標，並協助制訂相關的發展計劃。」Eric經常從新聞、評論和研究文章等資訊來源汲取多方精闢意見，緊貼不斷變化的商業環境及挑戰。

突破障礙 拓展新機

他指出，策略演變對企業發展起著關鍵作用。「資產管理和資產提升為自公司成立以來的兩大業務動力，而過去幾年來，我們於業務多元化方面取得重要突破，優化投資組合，當中包括拓展新地域市場及資產類別，以及透過投資發展項目，擴展我們於物業周期的角色。展望未來，儘管中國內地短期仍是重要增長來源，我們的長遠規劃亦必須保持國際視野。」

Eric指出，面對發展路上的挑戰，有賴靈活、善於應變、合作無間的團隊。「以內地為例，電子商貿來勢洶洶，因此旗下物業正透過增強體驗元素迎對這趨勢。在香港，為適應變化不斷的零售環境，我們已把T.O.P打造成為生活時尚樞紐，透過科技應用融合線上和線下購物，提供全面的『新零售』體驗。」

投資者對公司的大力支持，正是業務朝著正確方向發展的重要佐證。Eric說：「優秀的企業管治是領展投資者關係的優勢所在，我們深信高透明度和定期溝通，對於增進投資界對公司的了解，十分重要。有別於其他香港同業，我們並非由家族持有，因此投資者真正是公司的擁有人。協助投資者充分掌握公司業務發展，有必要全力做好。」

他說：「公司發展迅速，對於我們有份參與其中的，都會感到這是一個奇妙的歷程。最令人鼓舞的是看到團隊不斷進步，讓領展向著抱負邁進 ─ 成為世界級的房地產投資及管理機構，提升社群生活質素。領展團隊專業能幹，財務強健，將有利於我們探索新發展方向，延續驕人的增長故事。」

People Are Link’s Advantage
人才是領展的優勢

Eric noted that Link’s people ─ our staff and Board members – are our unique advantage, and pointed to the strong interaction between the Board and the management. “Our Board members’ generosity in sharing insights is matched by management’s willingness to provide information. Our strategic planning and decision-making have greatly benefited from this constructive, productive two-way communication.”

“I often think about the response of an Independent Non-Executive Director to my question of why he joined Link,” recounted Eric.“He said being a director of Link was an intellectually challenging exercise. Given that we are a company where challenges and opportunities closely intertwine, this struck me as a particularly intriguing comment.”

Eric認為，領展的人才包括董事會及員工，是公司獨特的優勢所在，而董事會與管理層之間有著緊密互動。「董事會成員樂於分享見解，同樣地，管理層亦願意為他們提供資訊。公司的策略規劃及決策，大大受惠於這種具建設性及效益的雙向溝通。」

他說：「一位獨立非執行董事被問及為何加盟領展，他答道：『因為這裏的工作可以挑戰思維。』想到這是一間挑戰和機遇共存的企業，這個答案充滿睿智。」