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Cheryl Arcibal

Weak consumer confidence in mainland China and Hong Kong is unlikely to improve any time soon, but Hang Lung Properties aims to emerge as a winner amid industry consolidation by providing better ambience and more diverse choices for its tenants and shoppers, according to its CEO.
“We have to improve ourselves and make sure that our offering is relevant,” said Weber Lo, the Hong Kong builder’s CEO. “We always want to bring new ideas and new experiences to our customers, and that is the key.”
The developer reported on Friday that its 2024 earnings fell about 46 per cent to HK$2.1 billion (US$270 million) owing to lower operating leasing profits and higher finance costs, as well as valuation losses on some properties. Overall rental revenue declined 6 per cent to HK$9.52 billion, falling 4 per cent in mainland China and 9 per cent in Hong Kong.
To counter these trends, Lo said the company must build complexes that cater to a wide range of needs, and judiciously adjust the mix of tenants in each retail space with an eye towards the best fit.
For example, he cited the recently launched Grand Hyatt in the Spring City 66 complex in Kunming, capital of China’s southwestern Yunnan province. The 331-room hotel provides a high-end accommodation component to complement the complex’s shopping centre and 66-storey office tower, with a gross floor area of about 168,000 square metres (1.8 million sq ft).
“We try to make the experience and raise our bar higher,” Lo said. “When customers come into our complex, they will have a holistic experience. They are not only coming into the mall for dining, but they may also work there, or they may have their colleagues coming from abroad who will stay in our hotel. So we try to be more holistic.”

China’s consumption slightly recovered in December, with retail sales of consumer goods expanding by 3.5 per cent from a year earlier and 3.7 per cent from November. This year, Swiss bank UBS estimates that overall real consumption in the world’s second-largest economy is poised for a 3.8 per cent growth.
In Hong Kong’s property market, meanwhile, Hang Lung is taking a practical approach to tenant mix. For example, gelato maker Messina, which originally hails from Australia, recently made the Peak Galleria shopping centre its second Hong Kong location after Central.
Messina’s locally made, Italian-style frozen treats are a good match for visitors who trek to the city’s best vantage point to enjoy its world-famous skyline, Lo said.
“A lot of mainland Chinese tourists are also coming into Hong Kong, and they want to try something else,” he said. “If you ask them to dine in a restaurant and have a dinner of HK$2,000 per head, forget it. But if you have a cup of ice cream for only HK$40, that is OK.”
“When you work with the tenants and offer the trade mix, you have to make sure that they are relevant to the tourists. If they come to The Peak and they take a photo of Hong Kong and maybe only spend HK$100, what kind of transaction do you get? So the merchandise is tailored for the tourists and therefore [tenants] are doing well.”
Tourist arrivals in Hong Kong jumped by a third to 44.5 million in 2024. Despite the growing numbers, spending per overnight visitor is likely to have shrunk by as much as 16.4 per cent from 2023, to HK$5,800, according to a government forecast.


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‘We have to improve ourselves and make sure that our offering is relevant,’ CEO Weber Lo says


‘We have to improve ourselves and make sure that our offering is relevant,’ CEO Weber Lo says.


Hong Kong developer Hang Lung diversifies amid consumer challenges

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘We have to improve ourselves and make sure that our offering is relevant,’ CEO Weber Lo says

‘We have to improve ourselves and make sure that our offering is relevant,’ CEO Weber Lo says