KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway Malls, Malaysia’s largest mall owner-operator by total retail space and number of properties, is ramping up its retail expansion with plans to open Sunway Pier in Port Klang, Selangor, and Sunway Ipoh Mall in Sunway City Ipoh, Perak by 2027.
Sunway Pier will offer about 400,000 square feet of retail space, while Sunway Ipoh Mall is poised to become one of the group’s largest malls with 1.2 million square feet of net lettable area (NLA).
Further strengthening its footprint, Sunway Group is also planning an RM3 billion mixed-use development near the Bukit Chagar Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link station in Johor Baru.
Scheduled for completion by 2028, the Bukit Chagar project will include a 400,000-square-foot retail component, reinforcing the group’s growing presence in key urban hubs.
With these strategic additions, Sunway Malls—the retail arm of Sunway Group—is set to expect to grow its portfolio to 13 malls, collectively offering 8.2 million square feet of nett lettable area (NLA).
Future asset injections into Sunway REIT are expected to further strengthen the group’s integrated property and investment platform, said Sunway Malls chief executive officer Chan Hoi Choy.
Despite recent downward revisions to Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, Chan expressed confidence in Sunway Malls’ ability to maintain the 5 per cent growth achieved in 2024.
He said the group has consistently outperformed both industry growth and Malaysia’s GDP growth over the past two decades.
“Our mall business is closely tied to the country’s GDP growth, with millions of transactions recorded annually. Whether customers spend RM5 or RM5,000, the data across millions of transactions clearly reflects consumption trends.
“Historically, Sunway Malls has consistently outpaced national GDP growth, and we expect to continue this trend,” he said during the unveiling of the group’s 10th mall, located in Sunway City, Kuala Lumpur.
Sunway Malls recorded 5 per cent year-on-year growth in 2024, with December’s sales growing 5.6 per cent year-on-year despite a shorter school holiday season. The positive momentum carried into the first quarter of 2025, bolstered by the Chinese New Year and school holiday periods.
Currently, the Klang Valley remains Sunway Malls’ strongest market, accounting for 67.2 per cent of its total NLA. The Southern region contributes 15.8 per cent, while the Northern region makes up 17 per cent.
Sunway Square Mall, opening in September, will span 300,000 square feet of NLA across four floors, housing over 150 retail outlets and providing 3,000 parking bays.
Chan noted that 95 per cent of the mall’s retail space has already been successfully leased, with the remaining 5 per cent strategically reserved for tenants capable of delivering dynamic, high-engagement consumer experiences.
Source: NST, 29 April 2025