November 13, 2019, 06:05 PM
A shopping centre in Hong Kong owned by Singapore-listed Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) suffered "extensive damage" after protesters attacked it on Tuesday night, Nov. 12, according to The Straits Times.
The mall, Festival Walk, had glass panels at the entrance to the property, including the office lobby and balustrades on various levels, smashed.
A Christmas tree within the mall, as well as the office lobby, were set on fire.
The fires were eventually put out.
There were no reports of injuries.
The damage was the work of a few groups of protesters and was reported by the real estate investment trust (Reit) on Wednesday before the stock market opened.
Price plunged
The Singapore-based Reit generates almost 70 percent of its revenue from Hong Kong.
Units of MNACT plunged on Wednesday morning.
This was after news of the damage to Festival Walk mall was made public.
The Reit sank six cents to $1.16 at 9.31am, down 4.92 percent, and continued trading at the same price at 1:30pm.
It was the most heavily traded counters on the Singapore bourse with 21 million units changing hands.
Three straight days of battle
Wednesday, Nov. 13 marked the third straight day of chaos in Hong Kong after a night of battles between protesters and police in 24 weeks of unrest.
On Tuesday, protesters caused havoc in City University adjacent to Festival Walk mall.
Tuesday was spent barricading the university campus, making shields, and stockpiling bricks and petrol bombs on bridges.
The mall is located in the Kowloon Tong area of Hong Kong.
Festival Walk has been closed since 2pm on Tuesday and will remain closed on Wednesday.
MNACT's manager is assessing the damage.
Earlier on Sunday afternoon, altercations also broke out at Festival Walk.
A peaceful gathering of protesters turned violent.
Shoppers, tenants and their employees out of the premises, were ushered out, and the mall closed at 6.45pm on Sunday, MNACT said in a filing on Monday.
Minimal damage was caused to the property on Sunday.
The mall resumed operations on Monday.
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