Hong Kong Land Registry: The return on fixed assets of trading funds rose sharply to 3.7% in 2025-26

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on October 28, the Hong Kong Land Registry published the 2025-26 Land Registry Trading Fund Annual Report. Land Registry Director Lu Jiajin said that in 2025 to 26, the department's revenue and profit (including interest income) increased by 11.1% to HK$443.7 million and 580.8% to HK$71.4 million respectively. This was mainly due to the increase in the number of documents submitted, which led to an increase in revenue for registration of documents, and the adjustment of fees for various registration services since July 2025. The return on fixed assets for the overall finance of the trading fund was 3.7%, up sharply from -12.3% in 2024-25. We continue to strengthen cost control through efficiency measures and simplified work processes.

Lu Jiajian said that significant progress has been made in implementing the title registration system in new land. Following the passage of the “Registration of Title and Land (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2025” by the Legislative Council in September 2025, the prescription is making every effort to prepare for the implementation of the title registration system. The Government submitted subsidiary legislation to the Legislative Council on October 21 this year, and is planning publicity and education activities for the public and industry to implement the title registration system for new land in the first half of 2027.

Regarding the conversion of existing land to a title registration system, the Land Registry has initiated an internal study to assess the scope and types of title problems in the existing 3 million land registers through sample screening in order to formulate a viable conversion plan. The Government shared the preliminary results of the screening and preliminary comments on the conversion plan to the Legislative Council Panel on Development in July of this year. The goal of the prescription is to develop a conversion plan and discuss it with stakeholders after implementing the title registration system for the new land, with a view to gradually extending the system to existing land. The prescriptions anticipate that the experience accumulated after implementing the title registration system for new land will help all parties reach a consensus on the conversion mechanism.

In line with the Government's concept of making good use of artificial intelligence and digital technology to optimize public services, the Land Registry cooperated with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Digital Policy Office to expand the scope of application interface launched for financial institutions to access property information services under the name of landlords in January this year, further enhancing the digital access capabilities of these institutions. Prescription has also launched a proof-of-of-concept study using artificial intelligence in the title chain screening of the existing 3 million land registers to facilitate the transformation of existing land from a contract registration system to a title registration system. At the same time, Prescription is developing a new system for submitting registration applications electronically to support online registration applications under the title registration system to be implemented in 2027.