New | Future Holdings plans to go into China’s lower-tier cities
“We reached a conclusion that there are plenty of lower-tier cities for us to tap around the country. We are confident that our high-quality shopping malls will attract people”
Hong Kong-listed Future Holdings plans to venture into the country’s lower-tier cities with plans to develop 40 commercial properties over the next three years amid Beijing’s urbanisation drive.
Chairman Wang Zhenhua told the South China Morning Post that the mainland-based company would shift its focus from residential properties to mixed-use developments in a bid to transform itself into a top-level shopping mall developer.
“We reached a conclusion that there are plenty of lower-tier cities for us to tap around the country,” he said. “We are confident that our high-quality shopping malls will attract people.”
Future Holdings, one of the mainland’s top 20 developers, said it would develop 40 commercial properties by 2017, and increase that number to 80 in 2020.
Many developers are rethinking their business to survive the industry downturn, which has been compounded by the threat posed by the e-commerce boom to traditional shopping centres and department stores.
Wang would not disclose the investment cost for all 80 projects, but analysts estimated the figure could top 100 billion yuan.
Future Holdings is joining industry giants such as Shanghai Greenland and Dalian Wanda in seeking to tap mainlanders’ increasing purchasing power despite the inroads made by e-commerce operators into the retail market.