Hong Kong’s US$900,000 a month retail lease is biggest since Covid ended

A MALL in Hong Kong’s premier shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui has rented three floors to a dining and entertainment group for almost US$900,000 a month, the biggest lease by size and value since the pandemic ended, according to a report.

The 80,000 square foot space at Silvercord mall will be transformed into an anime-themed store featuring dining, retail and a play area, Hong Kong Economic Times reported, citing unidentified people. The site will be leased for HK$7 million (S$1.2 million) per month and may include Japan’s Demon Slayer and One Piece, it said, without naming the lessee. The site was previously occupied by clothing company Hennes & Mauritz.

Mainland Chinese tourists are returning to the city after travel restrictions were lifted earlier this year. Visitor numbers increased from fewer than a million in January to almost three million in April, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Retail sales in April reached 92 per cent of 2019’s level in the same period.

Commercial rents plummeted during the pandemic due to Covid curbs and restrictions on visitors. Leases in Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon fell 41 per cent between 2019 and 2022, according to a survey by commercial property firm Cushman & Wakefield. Tsim Sha Tsui overtook Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay as the city’s most expensive retail district, the survey showed.

Luxury brand Chanel leased a two-floor shop in a prime location in Causeway Bay in May. BLOOMBERG