Glonghui, Feb. 9 | Da Mo published a report stating that due to the gradual easing of border restrictions between Hong Kong and the Mainland, benefiting from the improvement in the economy and consumer climate, Hong Kong's retail sales value increased 1.1% year-on-year in December last year, beating the bank's and market expectations by continuing to fall 3% and 4.2%; for the whole year, it fell by about 0.9%. The bank's retail sales growth is expected to support the upward trend in the valuations of leased shares of stores, such as Jiucang Real Estate (1997.HK) and Xishen (0014.HK). Considering the valuation, the bank favors Hysan over Jiucang Real Estate. Other major exposures to the Hong Kong retail market include Lingzhan (0823.HK), SHKP (0016.HK) and MTR (0066.HK).