Why CapitaMalls Asia's Westgate is unfazed by Jurong East Mall

Westgate will be different, says bosses.

According to Maybank Kim Eng, when asked how it feels about Westgate given the success of the recently opened Jurong East Mall (JEM) by competitor Lend Lease, CapitaMalls Asia's management remains confident that Westgate will be different from JEM, and suggested that there could be more new-to-market brands. 

JEM is a suburban mall located in Jurong East which claimed to be the first lifestyle hub in western Singapore. After some delays, JEM finally opened last June 15.

Here's more from Maybank:

At >75% committed occupancy, management revealed that Westgate is on track to achieve average rents of SGD15-16 psf pm. 

Still our top big-cap pick. We still like CMA’s retail mall business and we expect its China operations to continue to exhibit steady growth. Reiterate BUY, even as we adjust our TP to SGD2.51 on the back of lower fair values for its listed REITs.