Who is Ruby Liu, the B.C. billionaire who is buying 28 Hudson’s Bay leases?

A billionaire owner of three shopping malls in British Columbia signed a deal to acquire 28 Hudson’s Bay Company ULC store leases out of creditor protection proceedings, in locations across B.C., Alberta and Ontario. Few in Canada had heard of her before her bold move to resurrect these Bay locations, so here’s a look at what we know about the investor aiming to grow her commercial real estate empire.

Who is Weihong (Ruby) Liu?

Weihong (Ruby) Liu is the chair of Ruby Liu Commercial Investment Corp’s Central Walk, a Nanaimo-based real estate investment firm that focuses on acquiring, developing and operating commercial real estate properties in Canada, with existing assets already in major cities in Southeast Asia, according to the company website.

She is now planning on adding multiple lease locations from Canada’s oldest retailer to her portfolio, even proposing a new logo and name in a social media post featuring the name “Liu” on a pink jewel with the words “New Bay” underneath.

Where did she get her start?

Liu’s rags-to-riches story began near the northern Chinese city of Harbin, the capital of China’s northern province of Heilongjiang, where she began working as an apprentice in a shoe factory at the age of 16, according to reporting from Chinese media.

She later started running her own business, selling wholesale goods such as clothing and vegetables.

In a 2023 interview with YouTube channel 56 Below TV, which presents Chinese-language interviews with Canadian immigrants, Liu said she dropped out of school in Grade 10 because her family was impoverished and could not afford her education. She also said she helped her grandmother sell popsicles and collect coal at the train station.

Liu later moved to Shenzhen where she opened a small shop and then a restaurant before beginning to invest in commercial real estate.

In 1994, she started Yijing Investment Development Co. Ltd and then its subsidiary, Yijing Central Walk, in 2002, which invested $126 million to build the Central Walk Shopping Mall in Shenzhen, according to the

Vancouver Sun

.

In 2019, Liu sold the mall to Hong Kong’s Link Real Estate Investment Trust for more than $1 billion and moved Central Walk’s headquarters to Canada, Business in Vancouver reported.

What controversies has Liu faced?

Liu previously served as a former member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body.

In the interview with 56 Below TV, Liu said she was motivated to join the committee after realizing power was “essential” while doing business in real estate in Shenzhen otherwise her rivals would have made sure she was “crushed to death.”

Liu gained controversy in 2012 for hitting a journalist from Shenzhen Business Daily following a press conference, after the journalist had reported on “suspected illegal sales” made by Liu’s commercial development company.

The media-shy Liu hasn’t participated in many interviews in the past but is active on Chinese social media platforms, where she has discussed her plans for the Bay leases.

What does Liu own in Canada?

Liu moved from China to Canada in 2014 and became a Canadian permanent resident in 2017, according to the Vancouver Sun. She owns a home on ­Vancouver Island and a 10,000-sq.-ft. mansion on the University of B.C. Endowment Lands.

Her foray into the Canadian commercial real estate market began in 2020 with her acquisition of the Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo, B.C. Liu has since listed the shopping centre for sale as of April 2025 and it is valued at about $230 million.

In 2021, she purchased the Mayfair Shopping Centre located in Victoria, which was assessed at $242.57 million at the time, and in 2022, the sprawling Tsawwassen Mills mall in Vancouver, last valued at $407 million.

Business in Vancouver estimated Liu has spent $858 million acquiring the three retail centres, which were previously owned by

Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc.

, the real estate arm of Quebec pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.

Liu’s company also purchased the Arbutus Ridge Golf Club, located in the seaside community of Cobble Hill, in 2019.

Why does Liu want to buy HBC lease locations?

Liu said Canadians have a responsibility to reinvigorate the country’s retail industry to prepare for a potential economic crisis and employment issues, in a video posted to Chinese social media in Mandarin,

reported

the Victoria Times Colonist.

Liu’s company also has financial considerations in relation to the HBC locations.

The press release detailing Liu’s agreement to purchase the 28 HBC lease locations (which is still subject to court approval) noted Liu’s company is already a landlord at three of the locations in British Columbia, which are included in the deal.

In March 2025, court documents revealed HBC owed Central Walk about $860,000.

Liu said she plans to open a chain of more than 20 retail stores across Canada with locations in B.C., Alberta and Ontario, according to the Vancouver Sun.

Her proposed “New Bay” stores may well depend on whether Liu can get licensing approval from

Canadian Tire Corporation, Ltd.

, which entered into a $30 million agreement last week with Hudson’s Bay to purchase its intellectual property, which includes its branding.

Canadian Tire has also separately bid to acquire a handful of HBC lease locations.

• Email: slouis@postmedia.com

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