The company plans to invest four billion yen (42.56 million dollars) to build the 40,000 square-metre (430,400 square-feet) eight-storey store -- its first in China's commercial hub, a statement said.

Takashimaya will become the second Japanese department store operator to set foot in mainland China following Isetan Co., a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, in a bid to woo the country's nouveau riche and affluent foreigners.

The company is also hoping to profit from a knock-on effect from the 2010 Shanghai Expo which is expected to attract as many as 70 million visitors, and for which roads and subways are now under construction, a spokesman said.

The official said it was unclear whether the company would open other stores in light of the worldwide downturn, from which China has not been immune.

China's exports fell by the steepest margin in more than a decade in January while growth fell back into single digits due to recessions hitting its major export markets in the West and Japan.

Takashimaya already has regional flagship stores in Taiwan and Singapore.

Japanese companies are increasingly looking abroad to earn their fortunes as the population greys and tightens its purse-strings amid what the government has said is the worst recession since World War II.

Department stores in Japan made 7.4 trillion yen last year, nearly two trillion yen less than during their peak in 1991, according to the Nikkei business daily.

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