CapitaMalls Asia, a unit of Southeast Asia’s biggest developer, said third-quarter profit rose 14% as its retail business benefits from Asia’s economic growth.

Net income rose to $68 million from $59.6 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the Singapore stock exchange today. Revenue under management gained 5% to $325.6 million, it said.

“Economic growth remains strong in our two largest markets, Singapore and China,” Liew Mun Leong, chairman of CapitaMalls, said in the statement. “To tap on this growth, we will continue to grow our shopping mall portfolio through selective and strategic acquisitions.”

The company, which operates shopping malls in markets including Singapore, Japan, China, India and Malaysia, benefited as consumer spending gained across Asia, after the global economy recovered from recession.

Retail sales excluding motor vehicles in Singapore, where CapitaMalls operates 18 malls, rose at the fastest pace in three months in August, while those in China, where it has 51 properties, jumped 19 percent in September, according to government data from both countries released this month.

Singapore-based CapitaMalls closed unchanged at $2.14. The stock has lost 16% this year, compared with the 8% gain in the Singapore benchmark stock index.

“With our strong balance sheet, cash position and growth opportunities in Asia, we remain confident of achieving our target of investing between $800 million to $1 billion in new projects in the second half of this year,” CapitaMalls Chief Executive Officer Lim Beng Chee said in the same statement.

The company took its CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust public in July, becoming that country’s second-largest property trust. CapitaMalls owns the ION Orchard retail development along Singapore’s shopping belt.