- Kristopher Fraser
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Singaporean mall developer CapitaLand has reported that all of their
Chinese malls have reopened post the coronavirus outbreak. The news was
reported by WWD. CapitaLand has a very prominent portfolio of malls in
mainland China, which was greatly impacted by the coronavirus as it
originated in Wuhan, China.
All four of the CapitaLand owned malls in Wuhan reopened on April 2 after
approval from local authorities. 80 percent of tenants at CapitaLand
properties have said they have resumed business.
As business slowly returns to normal in China, the question is now posed of
how long economic recovery will take. China’s January and February retail
figures fell 20 percent, and the country’s retail sector was already
struggling economically after a year of government protests which saw
tourism and shopping decline. Malls are already expecting sales to be down
30 percent for the quarter.
China has also seen layoffs and salary cuts after the economic fallout from
coronavirus where so much of the country was on lockdown for months. China
also won’t be doing too well on exports for a while, as many of their
global retail partners are struggling to contain coronavirus and their
countries are on lockdown. More Chinese shoppers are turning toward
e-commerce right now as they are still reluctant to leave their homes out
of fear coronavirus cases could spike again.
