Central Pattana (CPN) had laid ts plans to spend THB 15 billion or USD 468 million for expansion in Southeast Asia. CPN is the biggest developer of shopping malls in Thailand. The developer said it wanted to capitalize on the high growth spending of consumers in the region.

CPN's Senior Executive Vice President for Business Development Wallaya Chirathivat told reporters that they would be opening two to three new shopping centers in Southeast Asia in the next five years. She said that their first overseas mall would open in 2016 in Malaysia. Malls would also be opened in Vietnam and Indonesia within five years. Chirathivat also said that CPN would fund the expansion through cash, loans and property fund sale proceeds.

In a news conference, Chirathivat said, "We will spend around 4-6 billion baht per store in ASEAN where we see growth opportunities as it will become a single market."

The Chirathivat family, who ranked second in the Forbes richest families list last year, holds a majority stake in CPN.