(Hong Kong, March 3, 2015) Hang Lung Properties Limited (HKSE stock code: 101) is pleased to announce that the Company has earned three honors in the world-renowned 2014/2015 MERCURY Awards. The honors are for the online version of the monthly staff publication e-Connections, which won the Silver Award in the category of “Websites/Emerging Media – Redesign/Relaunch/Media”; its printed version, Connections, which won the Honors Award in the category of “Magazines – Overall Presentation: Employee/Staff”; and the FY2013 annual report of Hang Lung Properties which won the Honors Award in the category of “Annual Reports – Overall Presentation: Property Development”. Hang Lung Properties actively leverages different platforms to share with investors, tenants, business partners, employees and a variety of parties in society the latest information about the Company’s strategies, as well as updates on its business operations and achievements, thereby reflecting our high level of transparency in corporate governance. These awards reaffirm the Company’s success in maintaining quality communication with all its stakeholders.  

Mr. Philip N. L. Chen, Managing Director of Hang Lung Properties, stresses the importance of building effective platforms for staff communication at a time when the Company is rapidly expanding its business in mainland China with more than 4,000 employees in Hong Kong and the Mainland. Staff numbers has nearly double that from five years ago. Mr. Chen said, “The Company’s talent pool is growing ever larger. Henceforth, we need an effective communication platform so that management can share their strategies and direction of work with every employee. The monthly staff publication Connections has adopted this important role. Its online version is an instantly available platform for every employee to learn the latest news about the Company, while the printed version has become an important tool to link up staffs in Hong Kong and the Mainland, fostering interaction between employees with different cultural backgrounds, and increasing employees’ sense of belonging.”

With its revamp completed in September last year, Connections has become not just a means for staff from different departments to interact with each other, it is now also a crucial tool for investors, tenants, business partners, the media and government organizations to gain a better understanding of Hang Lung. e-Connections has incorporated additional video and feature stories to enable stakeholders to follow Hang Lung more closely. The printed version is reader-need-driven, adding features such as “HL Story” which digs out little-known stories about Hang Lung; “Food Hunter” which features the F&B establishments that are now included in Hang Lung’s portfolios; and “Staff Focus” which explains the less well-known daily work carried out in different departments. All these features and extras help employees in different cities and projects to have a deeper understanding of how the Company operates. e-Connections is available at:http://connections.hanglung.com/.

Among the Company’s many communication tools, the annual report and interim report, a considerable part of which is taken up with the letter to shareholders written by the Chairman of Hang Lung Properties Mr. Ronnie C. Chan, has consistently attracted a great deal of attention from the public. The annual report of Hang Lung Properties has won several MERCURY Awards in the past. The FY2013 annual report uses iconic representations of timeless design classics to represent the care and quality that go into all of Hang Lungs world-class buildings and the unparalleled value the companies have delivered to their shareholders, tenants and customers. The report sets an excellent example for quality information disclosures and shows the Company’s longstanding commitment to a high level of transparency, accountability, credibility and disclosure, allowing investors to fully understand the operational condition of the Company.

Organized by MerComm, Inc. of the United States, the MERCURY Awards recognize and honor the world’s best achievements in public relations, public affairs and corporate communications in which exceptional intelligence, creativity, originality, style and effectiveness are demonstrated. This year, there were more than 650 entries from 18 countries and districts competing for the MERCURY Awards.