China Property Management & Services: April Mall Growth Softened; May-June Trend Key to Watch

Research evidence excerpt

China Property Management & Services: April Mall Growth Softened; May-June Trend Key to Watch

Idea

May 18, 2026 04:40 AM GMT

Morgan Stanley Asia Limited+MChina Property Management & Services | Asia Cara Zhu

Pacific Equity Analyst

Cara.Zhu@morganstanley.com +852 2848-7117

Stephen Cheung, CFA

Equity AnalystApril Mall Growth Softened; Stephen.Cheung@morganstanley.com +852 3963-0385

China Property Management & ServicesMay-June Trend Key to Watch Asia Pacific

Industry View Attractive

Leading mall operators recorded SD% SSSG in April, but Related reports:

momentum was softened by a normalizing base and weaker

gold prices; Rmb depreciation also weighed on luxury malls. China Property Management & Services: 2025

Consolidation trends persist, with May–June data a key watch Results Review: Navigating the New Normal (13

Apr 2026)

point.

China Property Management & Services:

Adjusted offline retail sales (excluding autos) decelerated to 2.5% in April (vs. Shopping Mall Operators – Identifying

+3.5% in March, rebased across categories): Total retail sales slowed to 0.2% in Beneficiaries amid Market Polarization (7 Nov

April (vs. 1.7% in March), partially due to weaker demand for gold, auto sales and 2024)

seasonality before the 618 promotion. The implied recovery pace of offline retail

sales was 138% vs. 2019, or a 5.5% CAGR in 2019-25 ( Exhibit 1 ).

Shopping mall-related categories: All categories growth softened sequentially, in

particular for Gold & Jewelry, Electronics and Home Appliances and Sports &

Entertainment, which posted y-y declines. Restaurants growth also decelerated to

2.2% y-y, vs. 2.9% in March.

Mall operators recorded SD% SSSG and 2-11% rental growth in March (Exhibit

2).

CR Land (1109.HK) achieved 11% rental growth in April (vs. 11% in March ), leading to