Funded by Turkish conglomerate FIBA Holding and the State General Reserve Fund of the Sultanate of Oman, Star Mall opened its first China outlet in Shenyang, Liaoning province on May 24.

Construction on the $300 million Star Mall Shenyang Plaza began in 2009 in the most populous district of Shenyang and was completed in 2012.

The 325,000 square meter multi-purpose development "provides a unique shopping experience with top-notch international and local retailers" along with indoor and outdoor parking lots that can accommodate 3,000 cars, said the developers.

Its combined 17,000 sq m of wave-shaped skylight walls and roofs allow more natural light into the mall, creating an open-air shopping experience.

Two bridges connect Star Mall to the world's second-largest IKEA outlet and a 45,000 sq m office tower owned by Malaysian KH Group, which was also built by Starmall Group.

INDITEX, a multinational fashion company from Spain, is represented in the mall with seven prominent brands - Zara, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Pull and Bear and Stradivarius.

French retail group Auchan has opened its first hypermarket in Liaoning province in the Star Mall.

Other major anchors are the 16,000 sq m Robbinz Department Store owned by Indonesia's Lippo Group and the 10,000 sq m Duo Duo World supported by both the Liaoning and Singapore governments.

Huayi Brothers, the biggest movie producer in China, has opened a 12-screen cinema.

The mall also hosting 121 other brands from 20 different countries is expected to have 1 million visitors a month, according to the company.

Founded in 1987 by Husnu M. Ozgeyin, FIBA Group today is a well-known player in Turkish and international markets.

It controls an investment portfolio of high-value brand names in both financial and non-financial businesses.

Its investments in the financial industry are in banking, leasing, insurance, non-performance loan management and private equity funds. Its non-financial investments are in aviation, retailing, real estate, energy, shipbuilding and port management.

The State General Reserve Fund - or SGRF - was established in 1980 and is part of the Ministry of Finance of the Sultanate of Oman. SGRF is the largest sovereign wealth fund in the country.

liuce@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/01/2014 page12)