Property developer CapitaLand on Monday said it opened Suzhou Center Mall, its first mall in Suzhou, east China and the largest mall in its portfolio.
Located in the heart of the western central business district of Suzhou Industrial Park, the landmark retail development is the largest mall in the city, spanning close to 300,000 square metres – more than three times the size of ION Orchard in Singapore.
CapitaLand, through its wholly owned shopping business CapitaLand Mall Asia, is the co-owner and co-developer for the shopping mall and two 21- storey office towers. The latter began operations earlier in the third-quarter this year.
Shaped like a pair of phoenix's wings to symbolise Suzhou's growth taking flight, the magnificent multi-coloured roof is made up of 6,947 pieces of uniquely-shaped curved glass.
About 30 percent of the mall's offerings are new entrants to Suzhou, including Victoria's Secret, Forever 21 and HAY furniture store. H&M and Zara will operate triplex stores in the mall, the company said.
"As we increase CapitaLand's recurring income base with the opening of new malls, we will also continue to enhance our retail scale and network through acquisitions and management contracts...," Jason Leow, CEO of CapitaLand Mall Asia said in a statement.
As of 30 September, about 85 percent of CapitaLand's total assets contribute to recurring income, of which shopping malls and integrated developments form the bulk.
With the opening of Suzhou Center Mall, 61 out of CapitaLand's total portfolio of 69 owned and managed malls in China are operational.
