Australia\\\'s Westfield boosts investment in global stores

SYDNEY, Aug 27 (AFP) : Australian shopping centre giant Westfield Corp on Wednesday reported a 5.3 per cent increase in first-half operating income and said it was progressing with an US$11.6 billion investment in global projects.

The firm, which assumed Westfield Group's international operations after its Australian and New Zealand assets were folded into a new entity this year, said the results for the six months to June 30 were "in line with expectations".

"The operating performance of our pre-eminent portfolio of 40 shopping centres in the United States and United Kingdom remains strong, and in line with expectations," Westfield's co-chief executives Peter and Steven Lowy said in a statement.

"Significant progress (was) made on the US$11.6 billion pipeline of current and future developments."

Westfield Group, one of the world's largest shopping centre operators, split its empire in July.