Hong Kong lawmakers call on government to lower rents as survey underlines ailing retail sector

Survey by New People’s Party shows districts near Shenzhen border hardest hit, confirms links between mainland spending and local store closures

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Wan Chai is one of the worst-hit areas, according to the survey by New People’s Party. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 6:43pm, 19 Jul 2024

Hong Kong lawmakers have called on the government to take the lead in lowering commercial rents, after a survey examining the city’s struggling retail sector found more than half of business owners were facing increased prices despite lower footfall and sales numbers.

Revealing the results of the survey on Friday, lawmakers from the New People’s Party said districts near the border with Shenzhen, such as North District, Sha Tin and Tai Po were some of the worst-hit areas, confirming the trend that linked residents’ spending on mainland China with local store closures, they said.

“We think there is a healthy flow of people [visiting] the Greater Bay Area, and this is something that the government has been promoting for a long time,” said lawmaker Eunice Yung Hoi-yan.

“But at the same time, we have to tackle the loss of business in Hong Kong.”

The party’s survey conducted in May and June this year interviewed 3,477 residents and 409 individual shop owners across the city’s 18 districts.

People outside a closed store in Mong Kok. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Overall, 49 per cent said they noticed lower footfall in their district’s shopping centres and wet markets following the Covid-19 pandemic.