Global retailing names like Tesco and Carrefour are changing the way South East Asians shop. The mega-mall is drawing shoppers away from small, local and or family businesses, and while the global retailing giants are showing sensitivity to the problems, with sometimes massive PR campaigns focusing on the employment of locals and understanding culture, strains are very evident. In Bangkok, both Carrefour and Tesco have been the subject of bombing campaigns.

According to a Far Eastern Economic Review report today, Malaysia is going so far as to freeze all new applications from hypermarket companies while a more planned approach is devised.