Ronald W. Chan, Columnist

Hong Kong Malls Offer Shelter From the Retail Gloom

There’s still growth to be found amid the slump in high-end sales, and property trusts may be the best way to play it.

February 14, 2019 at 10:00 PM UTC

Ronald W. Chan is the founder and CIO of Chartwell Capital in Hong Kong. He is the author of “The Value Investors” and “Behind the Berkshire Hathaway Curtain.”

Picking and choosing.
Photographer: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg

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Hong Kong’s high-end retail sales have gone from boom to bust. That doesn’t mean investors need to avoid the sector this year. There’s still growth to be found, and the best route may be shares of mall owners rather than the businesses that are their customers.

The city’s retail industry just had its most lucrative year since 2013, with sales climbing 8.8 percent, or $62 billion. Much of that growth was fueled by the 61.1 million tourists, mostly from mainland China, who flocked to Hong Kong to stock up on cosmetics, jewelry and other luxury goods.