KUALA LUMPUR: Singaporean retailer Mustafa's, which operates the popular Mustafa Centre in the island republic, is set to open its first department store in Malaysia.
Mustafa's will open in the 11-storey Capital City Mall in Tampoi, Johor Bahru in the second half of this year, Singapore's Straits Times reported.
The Mustafa Centre is well-known among Malaysians for affordable shopping in Singapore as well as its 24-hour retail experience prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, it remains unclear whether the Johor outlet would be operating round-the-clock.
Mall owner Capital World, a Singapore-listed company, announced in a bourse filing on Friday that it would sell most of the retail space in Capital City Mall for RM368 million.
The report quoted Mustafa's managing director Mustaq Ahmad said saying: "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."
Capital City Mall, he said, ticks off many boxes in its requirements for its maiden foray into Malaysia, including its close proximity to Singapore and large floor space.
Both the Mustafa department store and Capital City Mall are expected to open for business in the second half of 2023, said the report.
According to the Straits Times, Capital City Mall was completed in April 2018 and opened in October the same year.
However, the mall had been closed since February 2020 after Capital World encountered financial difficulties and had to seek court protection from creditors during debt restructuring.
The sale to Mustafa's comes after Capital World had in April 2022 restructured about RM187 million of debt.
The company said it will also pursue other real estate opportunities, including helping Mustafa's identify potential sites in Malaysia and Indonesia to develop its mega stores.