Thai retail developer Central Pattana is to expand into Malaysia.
Central Pattana, the retail property development arm of Central Group, has forged a 60:40 joint venture with i-City Properties, a wholly-owned subsidiary of I-Berhad, to build a shopping mall within i-City, an integrated township consisting of shopping malls, office space and hotels, in Shah Alam in Selangor.
The mall called CentralPlaza@i-City will commence construction next year and is expected to open by 2016. The 1.5 million sqft mall will cost RM580 million (around US$200 million).
“This investment will be an important starting point for us to achieve our vision, which is to be a regional retail property developer, and this joint venture will strengthen our commitment to it,” said Central Pattana president and CEO Kobchai Chirathivat.
The new venture is part of Central’s goal to build 12 shopping malls in Thailand and other Asean countries from now until 2017.
Shah Alam’s population of more than 600,000 and growing middle class make Central Pattana confident about the joint venture, says Chirathivat.
Besides Malaysia, Central Pattana is also interested to open shopping malls in Indonesia and Vietnam due to the countries’ large population and increasing purchasing power.
