Sunway Malls aims to sustain 5pct growth in 2025 despite softer GDP outlook

New Straits Times

30-04-2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway Malls is confident of maintaining its 5 per cent growth momentum in the current fiscal year, mirroring its performance in 2024, despite recent gross domestic product (GDP) downgrades by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
Chief executive officer Chan Hoi Choy said the group has consistently outpaced both industry and national 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, the country's largest mall owner-operator by total retail space and number of properties, recorded a 5 per cent year-on-year increase in 2024.
December sales rose by 5.6 per cent despite a shorter school holiday season, and the strong momentum continued into Q1 2025, fuelled by festive and school holiday spending.
Currently, the Klang Valley remains the group's core market, contributing 67.2 per cent of total net lettable area (NLA), followed by the northern region at 17 per cent and the southern region at 15.8 per cent.
Looking ahead, Sunway Malls 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).
In addition, the group's footprint will be further strengthened through an RM3 billion mixed-use development near the Bukit Chagar Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link station in Johor Bahru. Scheduled for completion by 2028, the development includes a 400,000-square-foot retail component.
With these projects in the pipeline, Sunway Malls is on track to grow its portfolio to 13 malls by 2027, collectively offering 8.2 million square feet of NLA.
Chan also noted that future asset injections into Sunway REIT are expected to enhance the group's integrated property and investment platform.
Meanwhile, Sunway Square Mall, set to open in September, will span 300,000 square feet across four floors, housing over 150 retail outlets and offering 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.