Chart of the Day: Retail space vacancies on the rise along Orchard Road

Net absorption is in the red.

There were more unoccupied retail spots along Orchard Road in the first quarter, according to this chart from Maybank Kim Eng.

Orchard vacancies climbed from 5.6% to 7.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q1. The premiere shopping belt was affected by poor absorption of space and strong supply in Downtown Core.

As a result, Orchard Road retail rents slipped 1.6% quarter-on-quarter.

"We continue to expect retail weakness as visitor arrivals could continue to face headwinds from currency effects
making Singapore an expensive destination, while making rival destinations like Japan cheaper. Structural issues of labour crunch and weak economic growth continue to have a negative effect as well," stated Maybank Kim Eng.