Macau (MNA) – About 300 Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau investors were said to have lost RMB400 million (MOP476.8 million/US$59 million) due to the failure of a large shopping mall project in Zhuhai, the South China Morning Post reported.
The project was being developed by Zhaohong Shengshi Industrial Company and involved the construction of a 64,103 square-metre shopping centre in the city’s Xiangzhou district.
Investors were allegedly convinced to purchase commercial spaces in the future development and to sign a rental agreement promising considerable returns, which failed to materialise as the project, due to open its doors to customers by 2015, had its construction halted.
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) indicated to the newspaper that just Hong Kong investors in the project were said to have lost RMB20 million. No information was provided in regards to the number of Macau investors or their investment amount.
Investors were said to have signed the agreement with a shell corporation, which could mean they would face difficulties getting their investment back.
One anonymous Hong Kong investor indicated he was facing losses of more than RMB650,000 after buying a shop unit. He was promised 50 per cent in investment return in five years’ time, but only received the first annual payment in 2017, and has failed to receive any more money since.
The developer was said to have claimed financial problems as justification for the delays; with the company’s general manager, Gan Xianmiao, not denying this, but stating the case was being handled by the authorities.
The Director of the Zhongshan branch of the FTU’s mainland service centre, Poon Chi-fai, told the newspaper that since the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB), there have been several cases of Hong Kong investors being incited to invest in property projects in the Greater Bay Area with promises of high returns.
