Erste Bank subsidiary Immorent has set up a joint venture with property magnate Alexander Finster to build 20 shopping malls throughout Hungary over the next two years, the company announced. The total investment will be around EUR 300 million. Finster will acquire tenants and locations, while Immorent will handle the financial operations.

The malls are to be built at highly-frequented locations, IMMORENTs CEE Project Director Michael Hamann said. The malls, which will be built in 2007-2008, will host food, clothing and electronics stores and sports good retailers.

Alexander Finster is the majority owner of Lukale Investment und Development, a company involved in a project to build a vast casino and other entertainment facilities in Bezenye, a small Hungarian town of 1650 people at the Hungarian-Slovakian-Austrian border, business news portal Portfolio.hu writes.

Immorent is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Erste Bank Group and Sparkassen (Austrian Savings Banks). Since its incorporation in 1970, Immorent has planned and completed more than 1000 commercial and housing projects as well as public buildings.

Originally focusing on the financing of buildings, Immorent soon became aware of the importance of a wide array of services, and expanded its operations. The company is now offering diverse services from planning to implementation of building projects, alongside equipment and real estate leasing.