To further strengthen the prestigious positioning of the mall, enhancements will begin in phases at Plaza 66 from mid-2015. Our on-going trade mix reshuffle will bring a new look and an enriched shopping experience to the mall.

Plaza 66 Office Towers benefited from stable demand by local financial institutions for both new office space and the expansion of existing tenants’ business. We welcomed several new tenants during the year such as renowned international bank Credit Agricole. Rental turnover of the two office towers at Plaza 66 remained flat compared to a year ago.

The market saw an increase of Grade A office supply in Shanghai and multinational corporations becoming more cost conscious. Although the occupancy rate of the two office towers slipped four points to 91% due to the lease expiry of a major tenant in mid year, most of the space has already been pre-leased. The occupancy rate is expected to improve with the gradual arrival of new tenants from the first quarter of 2015.

We also took the opportunity to upgrade various electrical and mechanical systems such as air-conditioning and CCTV. In 2015, one of our objectives is to further enhance our tenant mix through recruitment of quality tenants. An asset enhancement initiative of the office towers is underway which will help us stay at the forefront of the market. Enhancement works for Office Tower One is scheduled to begin in the mid-2015 and will be completed in phases by the end of 2016.

Renowned brands including Bottega Veneta, GUCCI, Emporio Armani, Burberry, Balenciaga and Chloé opened their stores in the mall. The distinguished brand of French confectionary Ladurée and TWG Tea from Singapore also chose to open their stores at Grand Gateway 66, with the former being its first store on the Mainland while TWG Tea being the first tea shop in Shanghai.

From November 2014 onwards, Grand Gateway 66 launched a very successful branding campaign, “Where Vibrancy is Sophistication”, with a significant amount of online and offline media support.

Leasehold improvements at Grand Gateway 66 including enhancement works of the second and sixth floors were completed in September 2014.

In 2015 the mall will benefit from the installation of a new Wi-Fi infrastructure. This technology will introduce apps for in-car navigation as well as enabling restaurants to offer customers information on queuing. Both features will enhance the shopping experience at Grand Gateway 66.

The Group also plans to kick-start an asset enhancement initiative in late 2015 or early 2016.

Positioned as a mid- to high-end super-regional shopping mall, Grand Gateway 66 is ideally located for reaching customers beyond its existing catchment area, servicing not only Shanghai but also surrounding cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The goal of Grand Gateway 66 in introducing these software and hardware enhancement initiatives is to strengthen the mall’s overall shopping experience and attract more customers from the surrounding area.

In 2014, Palace 66 hosted several highly visible marketing events that appealed to the fashion tastes of young people, including the UK in Shenyang Week organized by the British Embassy in Beijing, the China Britain Business Council and the Shenyang Municipal Government, plus an amazing 3D performance and the final of the Dream Show. These events not only attracted great interest, particularly among young consumers and well-to-do shoppers, but were also well received by tenants, helping to improve their sales performances significantly.

Palace 66 is currently working on expanding its Wi-Fi capacity with the number of access points to be increased from 50 to 200. The work will be completed in February 2015. Once in service, the mall will be able to offer more interactive elements in promotional events. As we move into 2015, we will continue to adjust our tenant mix so as to enhance the shopping mall’s uniquely inspiring, unorthodox and stylish brand identity.

The opening of the metro connection in January 2014 and the enhancement of our hardware and software had a positive effect on the shopping mall. Footfall picked up in the fourth quarter.

The interior fitting out works of Forum 66 Office Tower were almost completed. Pre-leasing activities have started with a good response while the handover to tenants will be carried out by phases from the first quarter of 2015. The opening of office tower is expected to create synergistic effects with the Forum 66 mall.

In August 2013, the Shandong government enacted a new economic strategy in which Jinan is included as a main core city. Parc 66 is now the most popular mall in Jinan and the “go-to” destination in the region for young consumers and families with strong purchasing power.

2014 saw more joint promotions with tenants, including the World Cup Fever that capitalized on the World Cup with demonstrations of Brazilian martial arts, a freestyle soccer demonstration and samba dancing. We also celebrated the third anniversary of Parc 66 with a number of exciting events that included the chance to win a ride in a Rolls-Royce. Chinese Valentine’s Day was celebrated at the same time with the micro-movie “7 Days of Love” — a heart-warming tale of love produced by Parc 66 in collaboration with a number of jewelry brands in the mall. These events boosted the overall shopping ambience and popularity of the mall.

Looking ahead in 2015, Parc 66 aims to attract customers not only from Jinan but also from surrounding cities that are about a two-hour drive away. The mall will introduce more social media channels including website enhancement. There will also be new brands that have not previously appeared in Jinan before. Under the theme of “The New Fashion of Fun”, the mall will introduce a VIC (Very Important Customer) program and other promotional activities that aim to increase footfall and tenant sales.

New shops include Panerai, Blancpain, Jaeger-Lecoultre, Annvita and Bluefrog which opened their first shops or flagship stores in Wuxi at Center 66 in 2014. The opening of the first Ferrari & Maserati car showroom and Apple store at Center 66 also helped enrich the tenancy and product variety of the mall.

The pedestrian tunnel linking the basement of Center 66 to the metro station opened in October 2014, further strengthening the mall’s accessibility and popularity. During the year, innovative marketing events and promotions were held using a combination of online and offline media. The mall celebrated its first anniversary with VIP events for luxury brands such as the Jewelry & Watch VIP Appraisal Event, Trendsetter’s Closet and SS/FW Fashion Show. The mall also held a Christmas promotion under the theme of New Attitude and organized weekend performances throughout the month of December.

Looking ahead in 2015, the mall will continue to face competition in the market. But with the introduction of substantial promotion activities, tenant sales are expected to remain steady.

The Office Tower of Center 66, our first office tower outside Shanghai, commenced operation in October 2014. With the excellent location and superior quality of the building, we were able to command a premium rent rate.

Part of the low-zone units were leased shortly after the opening with the first influx of tenants moving in. Many of the new tenants came from international corporations. To meet the keen demand for office space, leasing of the mid-zone occurred earlier than originally planned.

Key marketing events of the year included the Rainbow Run, Mirror Mirror Party, Bazaar Art Show and Batman exhibition. Riverside 66 also hosted the One & Only exhibition of brands making their debut in Tianjin. To improve the customer experience, Riverside 66 installed touch screens for displaying store information and delivering promotional messages to consumers as well as social media channels.

In 2015, we will continue to enrich the mix of international and local brands in the mall, including first-ever brands to Tianjin.