D-Park mall eyes global tourists

Staff reporter

Chinachem said yesterday its recent acquisition of the D-Park mall is a long-term investment and the mall will be repositioned to attract international tourists as its chief executive Donald Choi Wun-hing voiced confidence it will create synergy with the group's other property investments in Tsuen Wan.

Choi said Chinachem expected reasonable rental returns from D-Parkmall as the current occupancy rate of the mall is near 100 percent.

Earlier this month, New World Development (0017) agreed to sell the D-Park mall and its parking spaces in Tsuen Wan to Chinachem for HK$4.02 billion. The mall has a total retail area of 630,000 square feet and 1,000 parking spaces.

The deal is expected to be completed next month. Chinachem currently owns Nina Mall 1 & 2, Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan West, and Nina Park in the region.

The group will optimize the tenant mix to add new elements to attract tourists when existing leases expire, Choi said, adding that this would be subject to market recovery.

Commenting on local property prices, Choi said it may rise by 5 percent amid a possible interest rate cut although it will not be a V-shaped rebound because of an ample supply of new homes.

In other news, Phase 12A of Lohas Park, or Seasons Place as it is named, is set to reveal its first price list this week. Co-developed by Wheelock Properties and MTR Corp (0066), the project's imminent launch came as sister company Wharf's (0004) chairman Stephen Ng Tin-hoi predicted local home prices will stabilize.

The developer swung to a net profit of HK$945 million last year on reduced property provisions, maintaining the second interim dividend of HK$0.2 per share.

In Kowloon Bay, Wong Sun Hing's project Uptown East received 3,500 checks as of 7pm yesterday for the first 168 flats on offer, making them more than 20 times oversubscribed.