Perda City Mall in Bukit Mertajam for sale

PETALING JAYA (March 31): Perda City Mall — formerly known as AEON Seberang Prai City Shopping Centre — has been put up for sale, with industry sources saying the 10-year-old shopping centre could fetch between RM300 million and RM500 million, reported The Edge weekly.

The 4-storey mall, which went into receivership in July last year, has a gross floor area of 2.36 million sq ft, a net lettable area of 1.15 million sq ft and one floor of basement parking, and is sat on 19.66 acres of freehold land in Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam.

KPMG Deal Advisory Sdn Bhd had advertised the property last month, calling for bids on a “as is where is” basis.

The mall is understood to belong to Northern Mall Sdn Bhd, formerly known as D’Aseania Mall Sdn Bhd, while a search with the Companies Commisison of Malaysia showed that KPMG’s Chan Siew Mei and Mohamed Raslan Abdul Rahman were appointed as the receivers and managers for Northern Mall on July 5 last year.

According to The Edge, it is unknown who appointed the receivers, but based on Northern Mall’s list of unsettled charges, it may be Maybank Islamic Bhd.

The beleaguered Perda City Mall was suddenly shut down in August 2016 after its management gave tenants only a day’s notice.

This follows a deal with AEON Co Ltd that had gone sour — back in February 2006, AEON had signed a lease and infrastructure agreement with D’Aseania Mall and began operations in August 2008.

However, AEON took legal action against the company, citing material breaches of agreement.

The retailer then closed its store in Perda City Mall on May 30, 2014, and reopened in a new location nearby within the same week.

D’Aseania then announced that it would close the mall temporarily to embark on asset enhancement work.

The mall reopened for a few months before it was suddenly closed in August 2016.