Hongkong Land Holdings Limited will seek to buy back half a billion dollars of its own shares, according to a filing with the Bermuda Stock Exchange.

The window for the proposed buyback programme is expected to extend until the end of December.

Hongkong Land Holdings Limited – a member of the Jardine Matheson Group – is incorporated in Bermuda and has a standard listing on the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings in Bermuda and Singapore.

The company's ordinary shares will be repurchased through the exercising of powers under the Bermuda Companies Act and the firm’s constitution.

In accordance with the company's current practice, details of any repurchases will be provided to the market via regulatory announcements and published on the company's website.

The purpose of the programme is to reduce the capital of the company.

The BSX statement said: “As the holding of treasury shares is not provided for in the company's constitution, any shares which are repurchased by the company will be cancelled.

“The buyback is in line with Hongkong Land's longstanding capital allocation practice which is to prioritise: 1. investment in new assets to drive long-term growth and shareholder value; 2. continued payment of steady and, over time, increasing dividends; and 3. investment in existing assets on an opportunistic basis, including through share buybacks.

“The group has and remains committed to retaining a strong balance sheet which provides financial resilience through the cycle.”

The company business involves the designing, building and managing of prime office, retail and residential developments, with a diverse portfolio of properties in 18 Asian cities.

The property investment, management and development group was founded in 1889.

It owns and manages more than 850,000 square metres of prime office and luxury retail property in key Asian cities, principally Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing and Jakarta.

The Central Hong Kong portfolio represents some 450,000 square metres of prime property.

There are also 165,000 square metres of prestigious office space in Singapore mainly held through joint ventures, a luxury retail centre at Wangfujing in Beijing, and a 50 per cent interest in a leading office complex in Central Jakarta.

The group also has a number of high quality residential, commercial and mixed-use projects under development in cities across China and Southeast Asia.

In Singapore, its subsidiary, MCL Land, is a well-established residential developer.