SINGAPORE – A home-grown bakery that has been selling its cakes, confections and cookies at The Clementi Mall for the last nine years might soon close when its lease runs out in end-2026.
The bakery’s owner is concerned that the heartland mall’s new owner, property firm Elegant Group, will ask for higher rent that he will not be able to afford.
When he recently negotiated the renewal of his lease, the mall’s new owner asked for more than $10,000 – a 55 per cent fee hike.
The bakery owner, who asked not to be identified out of concern that it might jeopardise future rental negotiations, managed to get this down to a roughly 25 per cent increase, but was offered only a six-month lease extension.
This expires at the end of 2026.
“Before Elegant Group took over as landlord, rental increases did happen, but they were generally at a reasonable and manageable rate, between 5 per cent and 10 per cent,” said the owner.
Elegant Group, linked to Guangzhou-based conglomerate Grantral Group, has been acquiring retail malls here. The Clementi Mall is its sixth acquisition, adding to a portfolio which includes adjacent Grantral Mall @ Clementi.
This example illustrates how a recent influx of foreign investors and businesses is changing Singapore’s retail landscape, with local businesses concerned that they will be pressured by rising rents.
Changing tenant mix
Mr David Hoe, the area’s MP, raised these concerns in Parliament. In January, he asked the Government whether it has assessed the impact of the sale of The Clementi Mall on the diversity of the area’s commercial offerings.
Mr Hoe told The Straits Times that his residents who visit the mall for daily needs are worried about local brands being displaced.
He pointed out that this might affect Muslim residents’ dining options in the future and said Singapore needs to develop a guiding framework to shape outcomes when local malls are acquired, so that they continue to cater to the diverse needs of Singapore’s multiracial society.
Without such a framework to check market forces, this could be challenging, said Mr Hoe.
These concerns have arisen because of how Grantral Mall @ Clementi has changed since Elegant Group’s purchase of the mall in 2016.
Mr Mohamed Jameel, who runs a money changer in Grantral Mall @ Clementi, said more mainland Chinese stores, including eateries and a supermarket, have entered the mall in recent years.
In 2025, his shop was asked to move to a new unit. The third-generation owner of HRBS Money Changer, a tenant of 15 years, said the landlord then allocated the previous space to an existing Chinese food and beverage tenant.
More mainland Chinese stores, including eateries and a supermarket, have opened at Grantral Mall @ Clementi since property firm Elegant Group acquired the mall in 2016, say shopkeepers.
(ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI)
Rising rents
While Mr Mohamed’s outlet has been spared major rental hikes, the plight of some neighbourhood tenants like the bakery owner in The Clementi Mall makes him anxious.
“We heard rental has increased on that side for both old and new tenants. We’re worried it will happen here too because it’s under the same group,” said Mr Mohamed, 51.
According to Realis data, median rents for retail units in Commonwealth Avenue West, where The Clementi Mall and Grantral Mall @ Clementi are located, rose by 29 per cent from 2022 to 2025, compared with 14 per cent islandwide.
The steeper spike in Clementi’s retail rents is driven in part by a surge of mainland Chinese businesses in the area, said Mr Alan Cheong, executive director of research and consultancy at Savills Singapore.
He added that these stores – primarily F&B outlets – are drawn to the area because of its high concentration of Chinese nationals, who are mostly students or graduates of local universities in the west.
Mr Ng Pit Hann, owner of 2020 Vision Optometrists, said about half of the customers at his Grantral Mall @ Clementi store are Chinese nationals, compared with just 10 per cent at his other heartland outlets.
“It might be a good thing that the Chinese shops come in, as they may bring more customers to the malls. Anyway, for spectacles shops like us, (the landlord) might not charge very high rents because they might want to keep at least one such store,” the 46-year-old said.
Concerned residents
Clementi residents said they are concerned that Elegant Group’s recent takeover of The Clementi Mall could lead to changes to their shopping and dining options, such as a decline in halal shops.
