Middle East tensions add uncertainty to Hong Kong retail rents, Wharf REIC says

Hong Kong’s fragile retail recovery is clouding the outlook for shopping mall rents, with Wharf Real Estate Investment Company (REIC) warning that rising geopolitical tensions could add further uncertainty even as visitor traffic improves.“Volume increase, however, was not often accompanied by commensurate yield increase,” the company said in its annual results released on Tuesday.Stephen Ng Tin-hoi, chairman of Wharf Holdings, the parent company of Wharf REIC, said the outlook for 2026 remained uncertain amid rising geopolitical tensions that could disrupt the global economy and push up inflation.“The world today is very different,” Ng told a press conference on Tuesday, adding that rising tensions in the Middle East could have a more direct impact on Hong Kong’s economy than earlier conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and Gaza.He said interest rates, which once had room to fall, may no longer decline and could even rise. “All of this will have a serious impact on Hong Kong’s economy,” Ng said.