Chart of the Day: Here's definitive proof that Singapore is over-malled

It has ASEAN's highest level of retail space per capita.

Are there too many shopping malls in Singapore? This chart from RHB Research has a clear answer: yes, particularly when compared to other ASEAN cities.

Despite the republic’s small size, Singapore has the highest concentration of retail space per capita, RHB said.

Singapore has 1.08 square metres of retail space per capita, compared to 0.8 square metres per individual for Bangkok and 0.71 square metres for KL.

Manila has 0.5 square metres of space per capita, while Jakarta has 0.44 square metres of retail space per person.

"Consumer spending on discretionary products continues to be weak in Singapore. Faced with greater competition from digitalisation, we think that F&B service sectors such as restaurants are likely to do better than the discretionary merchandise retailing segment as the former provides an experience that online platforms cannot replicate," RHB said.