KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — KL Gateway Mall, the newest addition to the mushrooming shopping centres in the Klang Valley, is eyeing to achieve full occupancy by end of the second quarter of this year, banking on its strategic location and public transport connectivity.

Opening today, the mall consists of mixed tenants, including fashion (29.7 per cent), dining (29.7 per cent), edutainment (13.3 per cent), home (11 per cent) and office (3 per cent) segments, spread over seven retail floors.

Located in Bangsar South, the mall, which is part of the KL Gateway integrated development project with a gross development value of RM1.6 billion, is being developed by Suez Capital Sdn Bhd through subsidiary Suez Domain Sdn Bhd.

The project will also house four residential towers and two corporate office towers, which will be completed in stages.

Commenting on the mall’s prospect, Suez Domain Head of Asset Management Michael Chee Soon Hin said the consumers’ spending pattern had been cautious throughout 2016.

It has, however, steadied and improved during the final quarter of 2016.

“For this year, I expect a cautious recovery for consumer spending as the consumer sentiment index should pick up, backed by positive government initiatives,” he said in an email.

In 2016, the supermarket and hypermarket sub-sector grew at a pace of 0.7 per cent whilst the fashion and fashion accessories sub-sector managed to sustain its business growth at 7.6 per cent in the third quarter of last year.

Besides that, the pharmacy and personal care sub-sector enjoyed a strong growth of 10.2 per cent in the same quarter.

“Thus, we expect consumer spending to continue its steady growth for these sectors in 2017,” Chee said.

He also noted that retail consulting firm Retail Group Malaysia had forecast a five per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in 2017 versus an estimated three per cent y-o-y in 2016, thanks to increased tourist arrivals.

On the weakening ringgit against the US dollar, Chee said it has an impact on the cost of retail goods.

The local unit is currently trading at the 4.4 level against the US dollar, which is in line with most of the research houses’ expectations of between RM4.10 and RM4.40 in 2017.

“According to Retail Group Malaysia, local retailers may be forced to raise prices again during the first six months of next year,” he said.

However, he pointed out that the weaker ringgit would attract more international retailers to set up business in Malaysia as the cost to enter the domestic market would be more affordable for them. — Bernama

– Source: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/money/article/kl-gateway-mall-eyes-full-occupancy-by-end-of-q2-2017#sthash.grlnWvR8.dpuf