Far Eastern Group, a Taiwan department store retail giant, has announced plans to increase the number of its department stores in mainland China to 25 over five years.

Xu Xudong, president of Far Eastern Group, said that if the group can successfully expand the number of its stores to 25 in mainland China, its sales are expected to be over CNY10 billion.

It is reported that the group's next department store will be opened in Beijing. It is the second Pacific Ocean Department Store in the city and the 30,000 square meter department store is expected to be opened in the first half of 2009.

Since the entry of Far Eastern Group into the mainland China market in 1993, it has opened 12 department stores in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, Tianjin, and Chengdu. Among the 12 department stores, ten are under the brand name of Pacific Ocean Department Store and two are Far Eastern Department Store.