(Yicai Global) May 23 -- British real estate services firm Savills and its US counterpart Jones Lang LaSalle have both said their clients’ long-term investment plans in Shanghai’s commercial property market remain unchanged as the city-wide lockdown, now in its second month, starts to be lifted as the latest wave of Covid-19 comes under control.

Despite the huge impact from the recent outbreak, Shanghai remains one of the most commercially energetic cities in China and most of Savills’ clients retain a bullish attitude towards the city’s long-term prospects, said James Macdonald, head of market research for China at the London-based company.

Amid the lockdown, sales will slow and property rents are also likely to be under pressure but the market will bounce back once things get back to normal, said Yao Yao, China research director at Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle. Brand owners are still optimistic about the long-term outlook of the Shanghai retail market.

Taikoo Li Qiantan, a glitzy new shopping center that opened in Shanghai’s Pudong district last September, reopened on May 20 after being shut for 50 days. The complex, built by Hong Kong’s Swiss Properties and the city’s Lujiazui Group, is open for six hours a day and restaurants are offering online services only for the moment.

More than 100 employees have been staying at the mall since the lockdown in Pudong began on March 28, as well as engineering and security personnel, in order to be ready to reopen at any time, a person in charge told Yicai Global. Since mid-April, some restaurants have been providing takeaway services to nearby residents.

Shanghai’s total retail sales of social commercial goods were the highest in China last year at CNY1.8 trillion (USD268.9 billion), of which about 13 percent came from shopping centers, according to the Shanghai Council of Shopping Centers. As of the end of last year, Shanghai had 343 large malls with a floor area of over 30,000 square meters, also the most in the country.

Life should get back to normal next month as the Covid-19 outbreak comes under control, the municipal government said earlier.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor