This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on July 20, 2026 - July 26, 2026

PELABURAN Hartanah Bhd (PHB), the government-linked property investment arm of Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputra, has put The Shore Shopping Gallery in Melaka — part of a mixed-use development it has owned for more than a decade — on the market, industry sources tell The Edge.

PHB bought the four-storey mall for RM212 million in 2015. A February 2025 parliamentary debate revealed that its value had more than halved to about RM90 million. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said in March this year that it would look into PHB over governance failures in managing property developments, one of the three key issues highlighted in the Auditor General’s Report.

Located on the Melaka River cruise route opposite the Eye of Melaka City or Menara Taming Sari, the 260,000 sq ft mall, with a net lettable area of over 190,000 sq ft and a four-storey car park, is a part of an integrated development that includes The Shore Hotel & Residences and the four-star Swiss Garden International Hotel.

When contacted, CBRE | WTW confirmed that it is the exclusive marketing agent for the deal, however the agent declined further comment. The asset is said to be on the market via an expression of interest (EOI) exercise.

While the asking price for The Shore Shopping Gallery was not revealed, industry sources believe a reasonable price tag would be around or slightly below the indicated value of RM90 million. They say the mall is perhaps more suitable to be converted into a themed mall, such as a wellness mall, as it is not really located in the main tourist hotspots such as Mahkota Parade or Dataran Pahlawan.

A local agent cites the recent opening of the first-ever standalone Skechers megastore at Tarcor Park in May as a pretty significant retail event in the state. The 16,592 sq ft store is positioned as a premium outlet concept and is the largest in the state, complementing its existing concept stores at AEON Mall Bandaraya Melaka, Dataran Pahlawan and Mahkota Parade.

The Edge understands that the occupancy rate of The Shore Shopping Gallery currently stands at about 60%, with The Shore Oceanarium as its anchor tenant.

“The more established malls in Melaka include Mahkota Parade and AEON Mall Bandaraya Melaka. Mahkota Parade opened in 1994 as the state’s first regional mall. Both malls are doing well and are well visited by locals and tourists,” says the local agent.

According to Henry Butcher Malaysia’s Malaysia Property Outlook 2026, Melaka’s retail market experienced a drop in 2025 with existing space, space occupied and occupancy rate eroding by 11.0%, 19.6% and 9.7% respectively.

“This contrasts with last year’s 13.3% growth in the occupancy rate. Amid the drop in performance, Tarcor Park injected a new retail experience in Melaka, where it is built detached and is designed to elevate the state’s retail experiential factor, a departure from the shopping mall concept with individual shops.

“Visit Malaysia 2026 is expected to attract more tourists to Melaka and will induce stability in the retail sector. Melaka’s retail property market is expected to be stable both in terms of value and rents.”

Meanwhile, PHB is said to be offloading several of its assets, according to sources. The Edge reported in June that it was seeking a buyer for its 22-storey freehold office tower CP Tower in Phileo Damansara in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, which has an estimated value of between RM158 million and RM187 million, or about RM550 to RM650 per sq ft.

PHB owns assets in the Klang Valley, Kedah, Johor and Terengganu, with plans to expand into Sabah and Sarawak. It was established to strengthen bumiputera participation in prime commercial real estate. Its portfolio was previously more focused on office and retail assets, but it has since shifted its strategy towards other sectors such as education, healthcare, logistics and data centres.

Other retail assets in its portfolio include Lotus’s in Setia Alam, NU Empire in Subang, NU Sentral Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur and Mayang Mall in Kuala Terengganu.

Its website lists its healthcare assets as Avisena Specialist Hospital in Shah Alam, Damansara Specialist Hospital 2 and Block B Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

PHB also owns office buildings such as Quill 18 in Cyberjaya, PJ33 in Petaling Jaya’s Section 13, Menara Bank Pembangunan (Plaza Conlay) in Kuala Lumpur, Menara Hextar in Empire City Damansara Perdana PJ, Dataran PHB in Shah Alam and Menara BT in Bangsar South, KL.

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