Types of Markets

Although many markets exist in the traditional sense—such as a marketplace—there are various other types of markets and various organizational structures to assist their functions.

Financial markets

Financial markets facilitate the exchange of liquid assets. Most investors prefer investing in two markets, the stock markets and the bond markets. NYSE, AMEX, and the NASDAQ are the most common stock markets in the US. Futures markets, where contracts future delivery of goods are exchanged, these are often and outgrowth of general commodity markets.

Currency markets are used to trade one currency for another, and are often used for speculation on currency exchange rates.

The money market is the name for the global market for lending and borrowing.

Prediction markets

Prediction markets are a type of speculative market in which the goods exchanged are futures on the occurrence of certain events. They apply the market dynamics to facilitate information aggregation.

Golden Resources Shopping Mall

2 . Golden Resources Shopping Mall

Located near the Fourth Ring Road in Beijing, China, the Great Mall of China has a total area of 7.3 million square feet (680,000 square metres) spread over six floors.

It is 1.5 times the size of the Mall of America.

It was completed on October 20, 2004 after 20 months of construction.

3. Central World

This is the largest shopping mall and office complex in Bangkok owned by the Central Group.

Spread over 800,000-square-metre, the mall is the largest shopping centre in south-east Asia and is larger than Hong Kong's Ocean Terminal.

Originally called the World Trade Centre, the eight-story mall opened in 1990.

4. The SM Mall of Asia

Also known as MOA, this is the largest shopping mall in the Philippines. Spread over an area of 407,101 square metres, the mall opened on May 21, 2006.

The mall is owned and operated by SM Prime Holdings, under the management of Henry Sy, a Chinese-Filipino business tycoon.

One of the mall's main attractions is the first ever IMAX theatre in the country.

5. Dream Mall

Located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, this is the largest shopping mall in Taiwan and the second largest in Southeast Asia after the Mall of Asia in Manila, the Philippines.

Spread over an area of 400,001 square metres, the mall was designed by international architecture firm RTKL, based in Baltimore, Maryland and opened on May 12, 2007.

The mall contains restaurants, movie theatre, gym, and entertainment facilities, including a Ferris wheel nicknamed

World's 10 biggest shopping malls

From Mumbai to Shanghai to California, shopping malls are sprouting up by the dozens every year. And with the retail sector booming, more such swanky shopping plazas are waiting to be built. But all is not as bright as it is projected to be.

While footfalls in most malls are increasing by the day, the volume of actual sale remains more or less static, barring the festive seasons, when sales shoot up. But this too is restricted to select outletss.

However, there is no denying that shopping malls have become an indispensable part of our lives, today.

To know more about the world's 10 biggest shopping malls (area wise), read on...

1. South China Mall

Located in Dongguan, this mall has leasable space for over 1,500 stores in approximately 6.5 million square-feet of total floor area.

It has seven zones modelled on: Amsterdam, Paris, Rome, Venice, Egypt, the Caribbean, and California.

Although the mall opened in 2005, it still suffers from lack of retailers. Much of the retail space remains empty.

Analysts say that the main reason the mall is so far largely unoccupied is that it is located in the suburbs of Dongguan, which is not well connected by China's public transport system.

History

The Iguatemi São Paulo shopping centre is the oldest Brazilian mall.
The great Gostiny Dvor in Saint Petersburg, 1802.
An example of the mid-19th century arcade: The Passage in St Petersburg.
Forum Bornova Open-Air Shopping Center in İzmir, Turkey

Isfahan's Grand Bazaar, which is largely covered, dates from the 10th century A.D. The 10 kilometer long covered Tehran's Grand Bazaar also has a long history. The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was built in 15th century and is still one of the largest covered markets in the world with more than 58 streets and 4000 shops.

Gostiny Dvor in Saint Petersburg, which opened in 1785, should probably be regarded as one of the first purposely-built shopping malls in the world, as it consisted of more than 100 shops covering an area of over 53,000 m².

The Oxford Covered Market in Oxford, England was opened in 1774 and still runs today.

The Burlington Arcade in London was opened in 1819. The Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island introduced the concept to the United States in 1828. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy followed in the 1860s and is closer to large modern malls in spaciousness. Other large cities created arcades and shopping centres in the late 19th century and early 20th century, including the Cleveland Arcade and Moscow's GUM in 1890. Early shopping centers designed for the automobile include Market Square, Lake Forest, Illinois (1916) and Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, Missouri (1924).

An early indoor mall in the United States was the Lake View Store at Morgan Park, Duluth, Minnesota, which was built in 1915 and held its grand opening on July 20, 1916. The architect was Dean and Dean from Chicago and the building contractor was George H. Lounsberry from Duluth. The building is two-stories with a full basement and shops were originally located on all three levels. All of the stores were located within the interior of the mall with some shops being accessible from both inside and out.

In the mid-20th century, with the rise of the suburb and automobile culture in the United States, a new style of shopping centre was created away from downtown.