Bulletin: Urban Renewal Authority's Balance Sheet Will Strengthen On Government Land Injection

This report does not constitute a rating action. HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) June 9, 2025--Hong Kong's decision to grant two residential sites at a nominal premium to Urban Renewal Authority (URA, or the Authority) underscores the city's commitment to urban renewal. It also signals strong ongoing government support to the Authority, given its critical policy role as the government's sole urban renewal developer. We continue to see an almost-certain likelihood of URA receiving extraordinary support from the Hong Kong government. Therefore, the rating on the Authority (AA+/Stable/--) is equalized with that on the Hong Kong government (AA+/Stable/A-1+). The land injection will support URA's financial sustainability amid challenging market conditions. These two sites, valued at HK$13.2 billion, should enrich the

...June 9, 2025 This report does not constitute a rating action. HONG KONG (S&P Global Ratings) June 9, 2025--Hong Kong's decision to grant two residential sites at a nominal premium to Urban Renewal Authority (URA, or the Authority) underscores the city's commitment to urban renewal. It also signals strong ongoing government support to the Authority, given its critical policy role as the government's sole urban renewal developer. We continue to see an almost-certain likelihood of URA receiving extraordinary support from the Hong Kong government. Therefore, the rating on the Authority (##+/Stable/--) is equalized with that on the Hong Kong government (##+/Stable/A-1+). The land injection will support URA's financial sustainability amid challenging market conditions. These two sites, valued at HK$13.2 billion, should enrich the Authority's asset base and improve its saleable resources. In addition, the sites do not need significant spending for conversion or redevelopment to residential usages,...

Bulletin