DNA Galleria buyer's ousting of tenants causes a shock

The day that Lau Chun-kai signed an agreement to lease a 500 square foot shop on the second floor of the DNA Galleria shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui in August was one the 24-year-old hoped to celebrate for years to come.

Lau, who was fulfilling a dream of running his own business for the first time in his life, had visions of a steady stream of customers shopping for the stylish gifts and decorative items he planned to sell during the coming festive season.

But within three months his dream turned into a nightmare. On October 30, Lau, along with another 68 tenants of the mall, were issued with notices to vacate their shops by December 5 at the latest.

The notices were issued after the owner of the mall, property investor Law Kar-po, sold the property to another investor, Wan Pak-kuen, for a reported HK$1.98 billion. The new owner has subdivided units in the mall for resale, and nine shops on the ground floor have already been sold for a total of HK$1.38 billion.

"I was shocked. I never expected that I could be asked to leave after just one month of opening," said Lau, who said he had spent HK$80,000 on fitting out his shop and another HK$150,000 on inventory.

However, the landlord, DNA Galleria Ltd, told Lau that the agreement he signed stipulated that when the proprietor required tenants to move out within a month, he must comply with the notice. "We have not even been offered any compensation," Lau said. He is now cutting the prices of his products to reduce his losses.