Still, the mall has plans to boost the number of tenants, said Ye Ji Ning, head of New South China Mall's investment unit.

CNN: World's biggest mall a China 'ghost town'

In a 2007 relaunch, the mall changed name from "South China Mall" to "New South China Mall, Living City" and a revitalization plan was drawn up.

CNN: World's biggest mall a China 'ghost town'

For example, in an echo of past Chinese government asset-allocation decisions, China built the largest shopping mall in the world, the South China Mall, which is 99% vacant years after construction.

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Golden Eagle Retail Group, one of the largest upmarket mall chains in China, said on Friday net profit was virtually flat in 2012 compared with a year earlier, underscoring the difficulty retail-related businesses had last year amid rising costs and slowing economic growth.

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About a decade ago he opened a mall in Xiamen, China, not far from his ancestral home, taking advantage of his ties and the fact that he and all of his children are fluent in the Hokkien dialect, spoken in the Fujian province, where he was born.

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But recently he's made much bigger bets in Vietnam and South Korea and in Beijing China, where he is building a mall.

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The deserted mall is also a symbol of China's rapid urbanization and runaway investment in real estate projects, where massive development projects have been given the go ahead without proper marketing and business research.

CNN: World's biggest mall a China 'ghost town'