The boom comes at a time when retailers are struggling with Hong Kong residents crossing the border to buy cheaper goods and services in cities like Shenzhen.
Wong said malls with large open areas or atriums would be better suited to hosting Olympic viewing parties and events, adding that such venues would benefit the most during the Games as smaller locations face space constraints and the possibility of noise pollution.
However, he added that the time difference between Paris and Hong Kong had inevitably slightly dampened the malls’ performance compared to the Tokyo Games.
Several important games at the Paris Games took place in the middle of the night when shopping malls were closed, Wong said.
While Henderson Land ran a similar fund for the Tokyo Olympics, Wong said it would focus on supporting local athletes “in a different way” with the launch of the “Breaking New Ground” campaign this year.
The program is designed to help support young athletes in the early stages of their careers and to support those who retire from the profession.
“As the Jockey Club has taken on the role of supporting those who are in the present tense, we are targeting the past and future tense… that way the whole cycle is complete,” he said.
The program offers aspiring athletes scholarships and other opportunities to help them achieve their dreams while receiving an education.
Wong also said it was important to promote sport in the community from a young age, similar to the arts, with building an audience that appreciates and follows sport being crucial to the success of the sector.
“While not everyone ends up becoming an athlete, committed fans are critical,” he added.
“If we increase public awareness and interest in different sports, even less popular ones, we can expand the audience and increase support for those sports.”
Wong said an audience was key to commercialising the sector and becoming a more self-sufficient business, less reliant on government support.
In the retail sector, the Sino Group says it recorded a 20 percent increase in customer frequency and a 15 percent increase in business compared to the previous week.
The company said it had invested more than HK$10 million to launch a “huge advertising campaign” involving shopping malls such as Olympian City, TMTplaza, Citywalk and One North.
The campaign included high-definition live broadcasts on the malls’ big screens, thematic installations, decorations, consumer discounts, competitions and performances.
The Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, which is associated with the company’s founder, also got caught up in the Olympic spirit and rewarded each member of Team Hong Kong – including athletes, coaches, medical staff and managers – with HK$100,000.
In Kwun Tong, according to Sun Hung Kai Properties, during the last Games, footfall at APM Shopping Centre increased by 20 per cent and sales volume increased by 15 per cent compared to the Tokyo Olympics.
The mall operator said customer traffic and sales volume increased by about 15 percent and 10 percent, respectively, compared to early July, before the Olympics broadcast.
