KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 24): Property outfit Global Oriental Bhd is forming a joint venture with Japan’s Sojitz Corp to establish the first Tsutaya Books outlet in Malaysia, at the Pavilion Bukit Jalil.

Tsutaya Books is Japan’s largest bookstore and rental chain distributing books, music, DVDs and games, with 1,200 stores in Japan and nine in Taiwan and China.

Tokyo-listed Sojitz is involved in trading, manufacturing, and project coordination in multiple sectors including transportation, energy and healthcare.

In a bourse filing, Global Oriental said its 80%-owned unit Pavilion Trading Enterprise Sdn Bhd (PTE) has inked an agreement with Sojitz and Culture Convenience Club Co Ltd (CCC), the franchise holder of Tsutaya Books.

Under the agreement, Sojitz will subscribe for shares in PTE’s unit Premier Style Trading Sdn Bhd (PST), resulting in a shareholding of 81:19 between PTE and Sojitz in PST.

Meanwhile, PST will enter into a franchise agreement with CCC to set up the first Tsutaya Books franchise in Malaysia by April 2022.

“As the property industry is becoming increasingly competitive and coupled with the scarcity of good land banks, the group continuously strives to diversify risk in its core business by expanding its existing trading and retail sector,” Global Oriental said.

Shares of Global Oriental closed down half a sen or 2.33% at 21 sen apiece, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM95 million.