Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) has bought the Seiyu department store in Sha Tin, amid the continuing exodus of Japanese owners from the sector.
The developer said yesterday it had acquired 100 per cent of Seiyu (Sha Tin), which operates the 150,000 square foot store, for an undisclosed price.
SHKP, Hong Kong's largest private shopping centre owner, controlling 8.4 million sq ft of retail space, said it had chosen to buy the store when 'Seiyu of Japan expressed its interest to sell its Hong Kong department store operation'.
The Seiyu department store has been a core tenant at SHKP's Sha Tin New Town Plaza since the centre opened in 1990.
Although the developer refused to say how much it paid for the store, analysts speculate that SHKP might have snagged a bargain in light of Tokyo-listed Seiyu's poor business performance in Japan.
The Japanese retailer posted net losses of 12.31 million yen ($881,592) last year and 7.08 million yen in 2003.