Shopping shapes up in Phnom Penh

With demand for shopping space in Cambodia on the rise and investor interest growing, the Japanese developer Aeon Mall (Cambodia) Co Ltd last week broke ground on the construction of a US$205-million mall in Phnom Penh. … “We are happy to contribute to the development of the local economy because it will create more than 2,000 jobs” … Motoya Okada, president and CEO of Aeon Group, was reported as saying at the groundbreaking ceremony by the Japanese media. He added that the Japanese company was considering opening other locations in Cambodia. … Cambodia’s property market is only now recovering from a bust three years ago that saw the construction of several projects come to a grinding halt. Today, developers are finding a demand for high-end retail projects that, according recent data by the property services company CB Richard Ellis, will triple in total space in the next five years. … Japanese foreign direct investment in Cambodia reached $75 million last year, up from about $35 million in 2010, while the Japanese government has promised an additional 1.51 billion yen, or $242 million, to fund several infrastructure projects. With the construction of the Aeon mall, Japanese investments in Cambodia are expected to reach $300 million by the end of this year.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/retail/326570/shopping-shapes-up-in-phnom-penh