CapitaMalls Asia purchases tenth mall in Beijing

CapitaMalls Asia, property major CapitaLand\'s subsidiary focusing on shopping mall development and operation, announced on Monday its 10th mall in China\'s Beijing city. The announcement posted on its website said the mall, named Grand Canyon Mall, was located along South Third Ring West Road in Fengtai District. The purchase will cost the company a total of 1. 74 billion Chinese yuan (283 million U.S. dollars). The acquisition, still in need of the approval from the Chinese government, is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2014. The Grand Canyon Mall is a six-storey shopping mall with two basement car park levels. The CapitaMalls Asia said it is currently about 92.7 percent occupied as of this April and houses international and local brands such as Carrefour, Poly Cinema, H & M, Gap, Sephora and Watsons. The company said the acquisition ties with its strategy to \" deepen its footprint in China and enhance its presence in the cities and regions that it is already in.\" Local media Channel NewsAsia said the company now has 61 shopping malls in 36 cities in China. Fifty-one of them are operational while the rest 10 are under development.