Japanese retailer and mall operator Aeon has opened Cambodia’s largest shopping mall in Phnom Penh.

It is the second Aeon Mall to open in the Cambodian capital.

MD Seiichi Chiba said at the opening that Aeon Cambodia’s first Phnom Penh mall has been well-received by Cambodian shoppers, attracting more than 18 million people since opening in 2014, prompting the development of the second mall.

While the new property has been constructed in a relatively low-priced location, its larger scale has involved similar building costs to the city’s first Aeon, which reportedly cost around US$205 million. Sources close to Chiba have disclosed that Aeon Cambodia may have been scouting for further potential sites for a third mall that could be built in the city’s southern districts.

In July last year, market research firm Euromonitor named Aeon Group the best-performing APEC retailer in terms of total sales, number of outlets, sales area and sales per square metres.