Hong Kong’s MTR Corp opens new shopping centre in Tai Wai station as post-Covid retail activity picks up

The Wai is located at the interchange between the East Rail line and Tuen Ma line, and below The Pavilia Farm residential complex
The opening of the new mall comes as consumers return to restaurants and shops after three years of pandemic

Hong Kong property

Jiaxing Li

Published: 7:30pm, 22 Jul 2023

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Hong Kong transit operator and property developer MTR Corp on Saturday began a soft launch of a new shopping centre atop Tai Wai station, its first since 2020, as the company looks to tap into the city’s post-Covid retail recovery.

The Wai, the 15th shopping centre developed by the firm, occupies four stories and a total floor area of 650,000 square feet. It currently houses about 150 merchants ranging from dining to retail and lifestyle.

Located at the interchange between the East Rail line and Tuen Ma line, the mall will officially open in the fourth quarter with a new footbridge connecting to Tai Wai station, the company said.

“It’s not just a shopping centre. It’s more of a community facility for local residents,” said David Tang Chi-fai, director of MTR’s property and international business.

The Wai, located on top of Tai Wai station, occupies a total floor area of 650,000 square feet. Photo: Handout

The Wai, which sits below The Pavilia Farm residential complex co-developed by the company and New World Development, will mainly cater to the daily needs of local residents, he said. Buyers of the first phase of that home project collected their keys in December.

Around 97 per cent of the floor space in The Wai has already been leased out, while the remaining 3 per cent will be held until later this year after MTR solicits customers’ feedback on the types of businesses they wish to see in the shopping centre, Tang said.

The opening of the mall comes as consumers return to restaurants and shops after three years of pandemic. Total retail sales rose 21 per cent in the first five months of the year from the same period a year ago, according to provisional data released by the Census and Statistics Department earlier this month.

Leasing momentum has picked up quickly, according to JLL.

“About 4 million sq ft of new retail supply is scheduled for completion by the end of the year, and all of these projects are located in noncore shopping areas,” said Oliver Tong, head of retail at JLL.

The Wai is MTR’s 15th shopping centre in Hong Kong. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Leasing activities will continue to be dominated by the mid-to-mass-end segments rather than luxury and high-end brands, with demand coming mostly from food and beverage, grocery, mass fashion and lifestyle businesses in the near term, he said.

MTR is still grappling with the impact of the pandemic, which dealt a heavy blow to its recurrent business that includes transport operations, as well as station commercial and property rental businesses. That segment saw a 91.3 per cent plunge in profit to HK$157 million (US$20 million) in 2022.

The city’s only rail operator has seen its share price fall 13.7 per cent to a nine-month low this year, compared with a 3.6 per cent retreat of the broader Hong Kong stock market.

Analysts expect the company to post a net income of HK$9.8 billion this year, down from HK$10.6 billion in 2019 – the year before the pandemic hit, according to Bloomberg data.

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