Slow retail growth on sight due to Jakarta mall ban

The retail market in Jakarta will grow slowly in 2012, partly due to the city’s ban on opening new shopping malls, says a property researcher.

Arief Rahardjo, the research chief of property developer Cushman and Wakefield Indonesia, made his comments at the Jakarta Property Market Outlook 2012 on Tuesday, kompas.com reported.

The city administration previously issued a moratorium on new shopping centers on fears of excess supply in Jakarta, currently home to more than 160 malls already, second only to New Dehli.

Arief was critical of the city administration’s implementation of the ban. “Will the administration really ban construction? That is the question.”

Developers were currently looking to open more malls in smaller metropolitan areas with a growing middle-upper class population, such as BSD City in Serpong, he said.