On Tues night (12 Nov), Hong Kong protesters took their displeasure to local mall Festival Walk. This was reported by news agency Reuters.
They smashed whatever glass panels they could find including those at the entrance, the office lobbies and the floor railings.
They also set fire to a tall Christmas tree placed in the atrium. According to the report, the fire was eventually put out.
Source
Fortunately, no one was injured in the ruckus.
But not so fortunately, one Singapore company – Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust – took a heavy blow. Their share price plunged at today’s (13 Nov) market opening by almost 5% from $1.22 to $1.16.
The real estate investment trust (REIT) also became the most heavily traded with 27 million shares trading hands.
The stock had risen to its all-time high of $1.46 just a few months ago in July 2019.
According to a press release, the REIT says that there was “extensive damage to Festival Walk due to various incidents on the night of 12 Nov 2019.”
The mall had been closed for operations since 2pm on 12 Nov amid earlier disruptions. Specifically, protesters had gathered outside, but altercations broke out and ambulances were summoned to send the injured to the hospital.
The manager of the REIT will be assessing the damage at the mall and provide an update as soon as possible to investors.
From their portfolio, it seems that a large chunk of their revenue comes from Festival Walk. So for the mall to be pummeled like that must surely hurt the company.
The violence in Hong Kong shows no signs of waning. A while ago, a police had to employ his firearm against a protester because he tried to snatch the gun.
Then, a day or two later, a member of the public gets set on fire by a protester. At the same time, we hear every week of a building or a station getting smashed and wrecked.
This incident goes to show that the consequences of the chaos in Hong Kong are not contained within the city — they are far-reaching and can adversely affect Singapore businesses.
As much as we would like to hope for a peaceful resolution, there simply seems to be no conceivable end in sight.
Featured images adapted from Reuters.
Taipei leads Asia at 5th while Bangkok leads Southeast Asia at 16th.
To avoid detection, the perpetrator would dress in women's clothing and even a veil.
However, some noted that its prices are higher than that of KFC's.
Those who break the rules on group size can be fined S$150 each.
A netizen also questioned the need to body shame mothers, who sacrificed their waistlines to…
The young cast will go through familiar stressful childhood experiences like collecting exam results.