New owner says Tang Hua Seng to live on

The Tang Hua Seng shopping mall in Bangkok's Bang Phlat district will continue operating as a department store under the new management of MPV Holding Ltd, the mall’s representative said on Tuesday.

The mall is in the process of transferring ownership to MPV, a property developer well known for operating the Chaiyatis 777 Market in Bangkok Noi district, said Kittipong Kittiprapas, Tang Hua Seng’s adviser.

“Details about Tang Hua Seng’s renovations and operations moving forward should be finalised next week,” he said, adding that measures are being taken to ensure the mall’s retailers can seamlessly continue their businesses.

This includes negotiating with the Metropolitan Electricity Authority to suspend cutting the power to the 12-storey shopping mall, originally scheduled for 8am on Tuesday, he said.

“Under the short-term management plan, the ground floor will still be the supermarket and retail spaces, while the upper floors will undergo renovations, with details to be announced soon,” Kittipong said.

Tang Hua Seng had announced last Friday that the department store in the Thonburi neighbourhood would cease operations from Tuesday onwards. The news prompted several shoppers to visit the mall for the last time on Monday to shop for items, which were being sold at discounts of 30-70%.

The first branch of Tang Hua Seng was set up in the Bang Lamphu neighbourhood of Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district in 1962. The Thonburi branch was opened in 1991.

The Legal Execution Department launched an auction for the Tang Hua Seng Thonburi branch in April this year, after years of continued losses. The shopping mall was auctioned at around 900 million baht, lower than the estimated price of 1 billion baht.

The Bang Lamphu branch had been auctioned off for 300 million baht many years ago.