CMMT remains cautious on outlook for FY2017

KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): CapitaLand Malaysia Mall Trust (CMMT) remains cautious on its outlook for financial year 2017 (FY2017) due to a double whammy of topline and rental reversion pressures.

Low Peck Chen, chief executive officer of CapitaLand Malaysia Mall REIT Management Sdn Bhd, which is the manager of CMMT, explained that the scheduled completion of new retail supply, especially in the Klang Valley area, will intensify the competition level among shopping malls.

"The retail growth is expected to be under pressure amid the challenging operating environment due to rising competition, which is expected to intensify, especially for the Klang valley assets," Low said.

She added that the rising popularity of e-commerce businesses, which is reshaping the traditional retail and consumer behaviour, is also another challenge for CMMT.

Going forward, despite the economic uncertainty and rising competition, Low mentioned that the retail outlook remains positive in the long term.

Low added that CMMT is expecting the commencement of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), which is expected to be completed in the second half of this year, to benefit the Sungai Wang Plaza in the long term.

At the noon break, shares in CMMT were down two sen or 1.2% to RM1.64 for a market capitalisation of RM3.36 billion. — theedgemarkets.com

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