The landlord of Harbour City and Times Square says retail recovery remains fragile, with higher mall traffic failing to boost spending
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenPeggy YePublished: 6:05pm, 10 Mar 2026Hong Kong’s fragile retail recovery is clouding the outlook for shopping mall rents, with Wharf Real Estate Investment Company (REIC) warning that rising geopolitical tensions could add further uncertainty even as visitor traffic improves.
“Volume increase, however, was not often accompanied by commensurate yield increase,” the company said in its annual results released on Tuesday.
Stephen Ng Tin-hoi, chairman of Wharf Holdings, the parent company of Wharf REIC, said the outlook for 2026 remained uncertain amid rising geopolitical tensions that could disrupt the global economy and push up inflation.
“The world today is very different,” Ng said at a press conference on Tuesday, citing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Higher oil prices could trigger broader price increases and reduce the likelihood of interest rate cuts, which would weigh on economic activity, he said.
He said interest rates, which once had room to fall, may no longer decline and could even rise. “All of this will have a serious impact on Hong Kong’s economy,” Ng said.
