Malaysia's Berjaya Group will open what it claims to be the world's biggest Borders bookstore here next month and plans a chain of 10 nationwide over the next five years, a report said today.

Borders is a leading global retailer of books, music and movies with more than 500 stores worldwide and annual revenue of US$3.9 billion.

Director Francis Lee of Berjaya Books, which holds the franchise, was quoted as saying that the first Borders outlet in Malaysia would open April 19 at the giant Berjaya Times Square mall in Kuala Lumpur city centre.

It would be the second Borders store in Southeast Asia after Singapore.

"The outlet in Berjaya Times Square will be the biggest Borders outlet in the world" offering a collection of 200,000 titles, Lee said, adding that the store would cover some 60,000 square feet.

The company plans to open a second store before the end of the year and eight more by 2010, he said.

"The typical investment for each store is RM15-20 million," he added.