Hong Kong scion Adrian Cheng signs Dubai retail partnership with group headed by royal



Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, former heir apparent to Hong Kong property giant New World Development (NWD), has partnered with a Dubai royal and businessman to spruce up the retail, leisure and cultural offerings of Wafi City, one of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city’s top shopping destinations.

Cheng and Dubai Sheikh Mana bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, founder and chairman of the Wafi Group, signed an agreement to set up a new entity called Wafi Anime 11 in Dubai on Wednesday, according to a statement on Thursday.

Al Maktoum is the cousin of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as the vice-president and prime minister of the UAE.

Under the multi-project partnership, Cheng-founded investment firm Almad Group would “bring its globally renowned approach to cultural retail and entertainment to a new region, with Wafi City and Dubai acting as the nucleus of the expansion”, the statement said.

“The two conglomerates will unite to usher in a new era for Wafi City, where heritage, culture and innovation will converge, strengthening Wafi Group’s position as the creator of one of Dubai’s most distinctive retail, leisure and wellness destinations.”

The joint venture planned to draw on Cheng’s K11 by AC brand, which is showcased in the K11 Musea mall in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui.

“We are honoured to partner with Wafi Group, the pioneer of retail and iconic mixed-use development in Dubai,” Cheng said. “This collaboration at Wafi City sets a new benchmark for cross-regional retail cooperation, as we connect the consumers and rich cultural industries of the Middle East and Chinese-speaking markets.”

  • Related Posts

    China’s AI red-packet battle burns through US$1 billion – but will users stick around?

    In an unprecedented Chinese New Year marketing blitz, Alibaba Group Holding, Baidu, ByteDance and Tencent Holdings spent an estimated 8 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion) to turn their artificial intelligence assistants…

    Continue reading
    Chinese AI drug researcher XtalPi expects to turn first annual profit on 193% revenue jump

    Chinese artificial intelligence-powered drug researcher XtalPi Holdings said it expects to turn its first annual profit on the back of strong revenue growth, according to a corporate filing. The Shenzhen-based…

    Continue reading

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *