Source The Jakarta Post
By Cyrillus Harinowo
The Grand Indonesia Shopping Town is likely to be the latest addition to the string of Indonesian shopping malls. But this is not just an ordinary addition. The Grand Indonesia is currently the largest and most luxurious shopping mall in the country, if not in Southeast Asia.
The complex, which includes the BCA Tower, named after Indonesia's second largest bank, Kempinsky Hotel and high rise Kempinsky Residence occupies a total space of 650,000 square meters.
The mall itself boasts a leasable space of 250,000 square meters. By comparison, Mall of America, the largest shopping mall in the United States located in Minneapolis, occupies a gross space of 405,000 square meters and leasable space of 225,000 square meters.
Shortly before that, another luxurious shopping mall also opened. Pacific Place Mall sits strategically across from the Jakarta Stock Exchange and has also become another shopping destination as well as a place to stop for coffee or meet friends. Not very long ago, two luxurious shopping malls, Senayan City and Pondok Indah Mall II, were also added to the list of high-end malls.
This phenomenon takes place alongside the sharp increase in domestic automotive sales. By the first semester 2008, domestic car sales increased by about half to almost 300,000.
Motorcycle sales also jumped by 44 percents. In fact, Indonesia in the month of June and July already ranked number one in ASEAN for monthly domestic car sales, overtaking Thailand and Malaysia.
This news contrasts sharply with the media's continual barrage that Indonesia is still economically depressed due to crises, slow growth and other negative sentiments. What phenomenon can explain that?
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