Hui Xian Reit chief insists its Beijing Oriental Plaza still captivates after 17 years
Malls can cohabit with e-commerce, as long as they keeps updating and adapting to latest fashions and consumption trends, says Hong Kong-born Tom Cheung Ling-fung
Despite the slowing economy and impact of e-commerce, chief executive of Hui Xian Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), which owns several commercial properties across the mainland, said he retains faith in old-fashioned retail properties.
Hui Xian Reit, the first yuan-denominated REIT listed in Hong Kong, and partly owned by Cheung Kong Property Holdings, owns Beijing Oriental Plaza, one of the capital’s largest and most iconic commercial complexes.
The plaza comprises a mall, office towers, serviced apartments and the Grand Hyatt Beijing. It also owns Metropolitan Oriental Plaza in Chongqing and Sofitel Shenyang Lido.
“I still hold strong confidence in the traditional business,” said Tom Cheung Ling-fung, executive director and chief executive of Hui Xian Asset Management, which runs Hui Xian Reit, “as long as you keep updating and adapting.”
“Consumer pattern changes, but human beings have been social animals for thousands of years. We still need to go out and interact with people,” he added.
In the first half of 2016, Hui Xian posted a 8.1 per cent increase in amount available for distribution to shareholders of 805 million yuan. Net property income rose 6.3 per cent to 1.1 billion yuan. Annualised distribution yield rose to 9.1 per cent, up from 7.9 per cent in 2015.