Billionaire with links to pro-CCP groups wants to buy the Hudson’s Bay Company

A Vancouver billionaire from China who has been linked to Chinese Communist Party-affiliated groups wants to purchase Canada’s oldest company.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

A Vancouver billionaire from China who has been linked to Chinese Communist Party-affiliated groups wants to purchase Canada’s oldest company.

The Hudson’s Bay Company, Canada’s oldest business and the world’s longest-operating incorporated merchandising company, is on the brink of liquidation, marking the possible end of a retail empire that has shaped the nation’s history since 1670.

Weihong Liu is the chairwoman of Central Walk, a retail real estate investment firm. The company is mostly known for owning several large malls in the Greater Vancouver Area and Vancouver Island. Liu boasts that she owns Tsawwassen Mills in Metro Vancouver, Mayfair shopping centre in Victoria and Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo.

The Central Walk website used to boast how Liu was a member of many CCP-associated organizations including the Provincial Congress of Political Consultation, the Guangdong Overseas Friendship Association and others. Various security organizations have warned that such groups are affiliated with China’s United Front network of foreign interference.

With Hudson’s Bay Company facing severe financial struggles, investors have initiated legal proceedings to determine how its assets will be sold off.

Stores across the country have already begun selling off inventory, furniture, and equipment at liquidation rates in an attempt to pay off outstanding debts.

In response to the news, Liu recently announced her interest in acquiring dozens of Hudson’s Bay stores.

Posting on the Chinese social media platform RedNote, Liu pledged to “Make the Bay Great Again,” citing her admiration for the company’s history and its deep-rooted significance in Canada’s retail industry.

“I don’t want to see hundreds of years of retail history in Canada collapse,” Liu wrote. “Seeing people upset about the Bay closing inspired me to fight to keep the brand alive.”

The Bay currently employs more than 9,000 Canadian workers who face an uncertain future without a viable buyer.

For over 350 years, the Hudson’s Bay Company has played a pivotal role in Canada’s commerce and heritage.

From its early days as a fur trading enterprise between First Nations and European settlers to its transformation into a department store chain, the company has long been embedded in the country’s cultural and economic identity.

Its iconic striped wool blankets became a symbol of Canada’s historical trade networks.

However, modern consumer habits driven by the rise of e-commerce, and increased competition from American retailers like Amazon and Walmart have chipped away at its dominance of the Canadian retail market.

The deadline for binding bids on the Hudson’s Bay assets is on April 30.