Hysan Development set to profit as mega bridge, high-speed rail link breathe life back into Hong Kong’s embattled retail sector
- Market observers have seen a 20 per cent increase in shoppers since the launch of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and the new high-speed train service
- ‘The market will turn larger for sure,’ says Hysan chairwoman Irene Lee Yun-lien as she vows to ‘woo new shoppers to Causeway Bay’
Hysan Development, one of the biggest landlords in Hong’s Kong’s famous shopping district of Causeway Bay, is poised to benefit as an influx of shoppers using the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and high-speed rail link is set to rejuvenate the city’s beleaguered retail market.
Market observers have seen a 20 per cent increase in shoppers since the launch of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and the new high-speed train service, and are forecasting a gradual recovery in the city’s retail sector. Both transport projects have slashed travel times between Hong Kong and other major cities.
“The market will turn larger for sure,” said Hysan’s chairwoman, Irene Lee Yun-lien, as the company released it financial results for 2018. “We need to take advantage to be part of the growing market and woo new shoppers to come to Causeway Bay.”
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the world’s longest sea crossing, has put the three cities within an hour’s commute of each other, and is expected to boost economic development and tourism in Hong Kong. The high-speed rail link, which opened on September 23, has cut journey times between Hong Kong and a host of mainland Chinese cities.
“The city’s retail rents have bottomed out, and we will see a single-digit increase in retail rental,” said Cynthia Ng, director of retail services, Colliers International Hong Kong.
Gross retail rental, the biggest contributor to the firm’s revenue, dropped 0.1 per cent in 2018 to HK$1.923 billion, compared with a fall of 2.2 per cent the previous year, Hysan revealed on Thursday.