Hong Kong’s retail sales could sink up to 50 per cent as city shuts out Chinese visitors amid coronavirus outbreak
- Keith Wu Shiu-kee, CEO of Sunlight Real Estate Investment Trust, says the impact of the outbreak on retail sales would be far worse than during the protests
- Sunlight’s Sheung Shui Centre Shopping Arcade, close to the Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau border crossing near Shenzhen, has been hit the hardest
Retail sales in Hong Kong could plunge by as much as half, as most of the city’s borders with China remain shut amid the Covid-19 outbreak and its impact could be more severe on the sector than the months-long social unrest, according to the CEO of Sunlight Real Estate Investment Trust.
“Our estimate is clearly double-digits,” said Keith Wu Shiu-kee. “Whether it is 30 per cent, or 40 per cent, or 50 per cent, remains to be seen.”
Sunlight, which is managed by a unit of Hong Kong’s third largest property company Henderson Land Development, has 11 offices and five retail properties in the city.
Wu said that the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on retail sales would be much more serious and widespread than during the protests, noting that in the second half of 2019 tourists from the mainland were still coming even though the flow had reduced considerably.
“During the social unrest period, the disruption was mainly during the weekend. But this time, we're talking about the closure of Hong Kong. That means preventing tourists from entering Hong Kong, particularly from China.” He did not say when the sector would return to normal.
