Ah, to be a suburban mall owner

SOMEONE told me once he wanted to come back in his next life as either an insurance company boss or a suburban mall owner. I'm not sure what kind of karma he would have to accumulate in his current life to be bestowed with that good fortune in the next, but it certainly sounds like an agreeable proposition.

Why not? Certain suburban malls, for example, seem to enjoy a durable competitive advantage - the kind that makes value investors drool over their Porter five forces analyses and discounted cash flow calculations.

A comparison of the profitability of Singapore malls shows that the most profitable tend to be located in suburban centres like Tampines, Bishan and Yishun - suburban in Singapore being defined as a location not within the Central Business District.