Mustafa buys part of Capital City Mall, opens first store in Malaysia

(Source: Bigstock)

Singaporean retailer Mustafa has acquired 591 unsold retail units in Johor Bahru’s shopping mall Capital City Mall from Capital World for RM368 million (US$86.8 million) as part of its foray into the Malaysia market. 

The purchase represents a combined net lettable area of 641,216sqft. It will also acquire 374 accessory parcels, which include alfresco and multipurpose areas spanning a total of 1.28 million sqft, and all 2181 car park lots.

“Having established ourselves in Singapore as a mega one-stop retail store for everything from fast-moving consumer goods to fashion, cosmetics and electronics, we believe the time is ripe for us to get into Malaysia, more so now that pandemic restrictions are out of the way,” said Mustaq Ahmad, MD at Mustafa. 

The director said Capital City Mall meets many of the requirements for its first flagship store in Malaysia given its close proximity to Singapore, ample floor area and ideal floor plates. 

Located in the Tampoi region, the 11-storey development opened its doors to the public in 2018 with a total net lettable area of 902,994sqft. The retail mall is expected to reopen in the second half of this year after being closed in February 2020 due to Capital World’s financial constraints. 

Capital World reported a net loss of RM3.4 million for its quarter to September 30. The company has until April 30 to submit a trading resumption proposal to Singapore Exchange Regulation. 

Mustafa has been operating for more than five decades with its flagship 24/7 Mustafa Centre at Syed Alwi Road carrying a wide range of goods including consumer electronics, jewellery, toys, fashion and apparel, cosmetics, and fast-moving consumer goods. 

Meanwhile, Frasers Centrepoint Asset Management and Frasers Property have jointly acquired a 50 per cent stake in Northeast Singapore’s largest retail property Nex from Mercatus for US$497 million.

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