Malaysians love shopping malls in general. Shopping malls are a one-stop solution for most of our shopping, entertainment, and dining needs. Most importantly, they offer free air-conditioning in this tropical region! No matter how much I don’t like crowds, I still somehow end up in a mall once every fortnight.

Still, there are too many shopping malls in the Klang Valley. Retail space per capita in the Klang Valley increased from 7.3 to 9.2 square feet in 2018 and is expected to reach 10.5 square feet in 2020. In comparison, retail space per capita in major cities usually ranges between 7.5 and 8.0 square feet.

Hektar REIT’s portfolio caught my attention as five out of its six shopping malls are located outside the Klang Valley. As at 31 December 2018, its portfolio of six malls has a total net lettable area (NLA) of 2 million square feet and an