Wallaya Chirathivat, the executive vice president in charge of the project, said there were no problems with construction, but the company wanted more time to inspect all of the construction details.

She said the complex would contain six zones, with four opening on July 21 and the other two in December. Japanese-owned Zen Department Store is also slated for a December opening in the shopping complex.

Temasek eyes city banks in China

The Singaporean government's Temasek Holdings Pte is considering investing in Chinese city commercial banks.

"So far, we have not found a target that meets our criteria, but it is 100-per-cent wide open," Eric Chen, North Asia and China president of Temasek-owned Asia Financial Holdings Pte Ltd, was quoted by Xinhua news agency as telling a press briefing in Beijing yesterday.

Temasek's stakes in state-owned banks like the Bank of China and China Construction Bank Ltd and commercial lenders like China Minsheng Bank are held through Asia Financial.

Current regulations prevent Temasek from expanding its stakes in state-owned Chinese banks, and Temasek does not yet own shares of  commercial banks in any Chinese city. Asia Financial chairman Richard Hu told the briefing that as regulators relaxed rules in the future to allow greater foreign ownership in state-owned banks, Temasek would consider increasing its stakes in them.

"We're always looking for investment opportunities, wherever they are," said Hu.