Shops shut in protest at rent rises imposed by The Link contractors
Half the shops in Yu Chui Court indoor market in Sha Tin were closed for half the day yesterday as shopkeepers went on strike in protest at rent rises.
The small operators, whose customers are mostly tenants of public housing estates, say rents have rocketed to unreasonable levels despite the current financial turmoil.
They are unhappy that management of shopping malls has been contracted out by The Link Management to middlemen, creating what tenants say is another channel for profits at the expense of shopkeepers.
They protested at the headquarters of The Link in Wong Tai Sin and handed in a petition, asking the company to intervene.
'For one chicken shop, the rent was increased from HK$5,000 a month to HK$23,000 a month,' said one shopkeeper, Ho Sai-kam. 'How can this possibly be sustained?'
Super Happy Investment, which manages the Sha Tin market on behalf of The Link, said it was only seeking to raise rents to market levels. The rent increase was a reflection of population growth, it said yesterday. A spokeswoman for The Link Management said it could not comment on commercial terms with its tenants.
Since 2005, when The Link Reit, a real estate investment trust, was set up to acquire public estate shopping malls, car parks and other assets, there have been complaints that the privatisation has not improved shopping malls.
It is not the first time operators have voiced their concerns at rent and management since the malls were privatised. Vendors at Choi Ming wet market in Tseung Kwan O have gone on strike twice in protest at the company's management style.
Earlier this month, about 50 operators from Lok Fu Shopping Centre, Wong Tai Sin, protested against The Link Reit after it increased rents from HK$30 a square foot to as much as HK$130.
A survey by Link Watch in October, which interviewed 207 residents who live near Chung Fu Shopping Centre, Tin Shui Wai, found 72 per cent of respondents were dissatisfied with management services.
Fifty-four per cent were not happy about security at the mall, saying there were not enough guards, and 80 per cent felt the range of shops in the wet market section was not diverse enough. Some also pointed to hygiene problems and said they occasionally spotted rats.
In a written reply to legislator Emily Lau Wai-hing yesterday, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan said the management had the right to determine its business strategy and operate in accordance with market principles.
'It has become a private entity entirely independent of the government. There are no government representatives on the board of directors,' the reply said.
Mrs Lau said the government would urge The Link Management to help small tenants in its properties and provide them with appropriate support.
