Even a new rail link has failed to draw shoppers to the area
Investors and retailers in Tsim Sha Tsui East hoping for a boost to their businesses after the opening of a new rail link between Hunghom and Tsim Sha Tsui a year ago appear to have lost out. The line has failed to draw shoppers to the area, as some analysts had expected.
And with Hong Kong's biggest nightclub, China City, due to move out on Friday, the area is likely to become even less attractive as a commercial hub, according to some market watchers.
CB Richard Ellis executive director Yu Kam-hung said the business outlook in the area was gloomy.
'There can hardly be further development,' he said. 'It is a natural process of urban development, or decay, if you like. Hong Kong has developed into a financial centre. Most prime offices have moved to Central or Wan Chai. Tsim Sha Tsui East, where the offices were built to accommodate traditional trading firms, has inevitably become quieter.'
Last year, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp opened East Tsim Sha Tsui, an interchange station with Tsim Sha Tsui station on the MTR. The government also has plans to relocate the bus terminal outside the Star Ferry pier on the Kowloon side to Tsim Sha Tsui East, making way for an amphitheatre at the Star Ferry site in a project to beautify the waterfront.
Ricacorp Properties sales manager Adam Lai warned that retail business in the area could be further hit when more construction work began.