The Land Registry Trading Fund recorded a net profit after tax of $93.5 million and a return of 18.8% on average net fixed assets for the financial year ending March 31. The trading fund will pay a dividend of $147 million to the Capital Investment Fund.

The figures were released in the 16th Annual Report of the Land Registry Trading Fund tabled in the Legislative Council today. The report is accessible here.

Land Registrar Olivia Nip said the department is aiming to introduce the Land Titles (Amendment) Bill into LegCo in late 2010 to refine the land titles regime before its implementation.

Currently, the department's Integrated Registration Information System provides online access to the land register and special services for business users. It also manages the 2.8 million registers and 18.8 million documents kept by the department.

"We have seen a 66% increase in the number of business subscribers since the launch of the system and 88% of the 4.6 million searches made during the year were through our electronic services," said Ms Nip.

To meet the demand for uninterrupted services, the department will fast-track a project to develop a new public search system which will operate independently of the existing one and the future title registration system. Search services will not be affected by any maintenance or enhancement of the internal systems.