Retail is weakening Harbour City’s low sales growth refers to trade and human currency affecting business

Wharf: Retail is weakening Harbour City’s low sales growth refers to trade and human currency affecting business

The Sino-US trade war situation is uncertain. Even if the number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong rises, it will not help bring Hong Kong’s retail industry. Mr. Wu Tianhai, Chairman of Wharf Property (1997), did not say anything at the shareholders meeting yesterday. Due to external uncertainties, Hong Kong’s retail sales in the first quarter of this year were significantly weaker than in the same period of last year. The sales of its Harbour City only recorded a single-digit increase. In the first half of last year, more than 30% rose significantly. The performance of its own Times Square in the first quarter is also in sync with the market. Reporter: Qiu Xiaoxin

Wu Tianhai said that since the beginning of this year, mainland tourists have been “good and prosperous”. Merchants have “small and few wealth”. The past five days of the Golden Week have been lingering, but there is no business data sharing yet. However, he mentioned that Sino-US trade friction and RMB exchange rate against the Hong Kong dollar are very important. Harbour City’s retail sales in the whole year last year rose by 23.6% year-on-year. The increase in the first half of the year was more than 30%, but only the unit figure increased in the first quarter of this year.

In fact, the retail market in Hong Kong in the first quarter of this year is not very optimistic. The number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong increased by 19.7% year-on-year to 14.58 million. The overall overnight passengers increased by 10.7%. The merchant’s purse has not been credited. The value of retail sales in the first quarter of Hong Kong still fell by 1.2% year-on-year. Dropped 0.2%.

Xie Qiuyi, chairman of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, said earlier that the market forecast for April indicated that the industry generally expects sales to be flat or slightly down in April, and the situation may not be as good as that in March. Assuming the Sino-US trade war reached an agreement, the RMB continued to rise and the local retail market was in the year. There are signs of recovery in the middle or the fourth season.

Wu Tianhai pointed out that the sales performance for the remaining nine months of this year is “very difficult to estimate”. From the basic tone, it is expected to grow steadily in the second half of the year.

Debt reduction first

Not rushing to new investment

Yesterday, a small shareholder asked how Jiufang looked at the investment opportunities in the market. Wu Tianhai said that the company is focusing on billions of dollars in large-scale projects in the central area. Last year, it also participated in bidding for a number of projects. However, the market is well-funded and the competitors are taking into account that the expected returns are not up to standard and there are no further bids. Nor are they eager to invest in new projects. He said that the company will temporarily reduce debts, with an annual profit of 65% for dividends and 35% for debt reduction and new investment opportunities.

At the same time, shareholders also paid attention to the reconstruction plan of the company’s hotel. Wu Tianhai said that the reconstruction plan of the Marco Polo Hotel and Ocean Center has been approved by the government, but the company has still not implemented it. The reason is that it needs to assess the impact of the reconstruction on the company’s business closure and the flow of people. It is necessary to consider the overall deployment and master the time. Precisely, “the market will rebuild before going to the chicken”, stressing that the company has not given up the reconstruction plan, but it depends on the timing. Another question was asked whether it would re-enforce the privatization of the seaport enterprise (051). He said that he would not comment.