Empire City Mall, which has a net nettable area of 1.7 million square and is located in Petaling Jaya, Selangor has Rubberex Corp (M) Bhd coming in as its new investor.

The glove manufacturer has proposed to undertake a collaboration with Alliance Premier Sdn Bhd, EXSIM Holdings Sdn Bhd, and JT Momentum Sdn Bhd to develop and operate the mall.

Empire City Mall is being built as part of Mammoth Empire Holding Sdn Bhd's RM5 billion Empire City Damansara project.

Empire City Damansara, which was launched in 2011, is spread out across 9.3 hectares of freehold land and will have a total gross floor area of 12.5 million sq ft when completed.

There will be 11 towers on a retail podium (Empire City Mall).

Rubberex announced in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that it has signed into a conditional subscription agreement with Alliance Empire for the purchase of 20 per cent of the latter's shares for RM180 million in cash.

The glove maker claimed that Empire City Mall is worth RM1 billion on its own, and the proposed subscription will allow it to get a strategic foothold and participate in a large completed mixed-use development in less than two years.

The proposed subscription and diversification exercises are expected to be completed by early 2022, according to the statement.

Rubberex non-independent executive director Lim Chee Lip said the proposed diversification exercise came at a time when the rubber glove industry's outlook appeared to be waning from its peak of supernormal profits and sky-high average selling prices toward normalisation.

The Malaysian economy is gradually improving, particularly in the business and retail sectors, he said.

Lim explained that the company's first entry and diversification into property investment is in accordance with its long-term strategy of delivering sustainable growth, reliable income, and value creation to shareholders by capitalising on current global economic openings and recovery themes.

"We are honoured to be collaborating with such established property players in the industry and look forward to elevating Empire City Mall to a premier retail destination when local and international borders reopen," he said.

EXSIM managing director Lim Aik Hoe said with this strategic alliance collaboration, he is convinced that the Empire City Mall is set to be one of the iconic tourism hotspots in Malaysia, within an integrated lifestyle commercial development.

"Empire City Mall is a unique creation that would add value to the surrounding developments, with its distinctive architectural façade design," he said.