China 'home to half of shopping centers being built'

China is home to half of the shopping malls under construction in the world, CBRE Group Inc, a US-based commercial real estate services company, said on Friday.

Currently, 32 million square meters of shopping malls are under construction worldwide, representing year-on-year growth of 15 percent, and half are located in China, CBRE said.

"China now has 2,812 shopping malls, a number that is likely to exceed 7,000 by 2025. And that's just about enough," said Guo Zengli, president of the China Shopping Center Development Association.

James Hawkey, executive director of retail services for Cushman & Wakefield China, a subsidiary of a US-based commercial real estate services firm, said few shopping centers in Europe or the US occupy more than 100,000 square meters of space.