SYDNEY-The head of Westfield Group, the world's largest shopping mall owner by market value, says the company is looking at retail property owner Mills Corp., which has said it may be forced to sell part or all of itself. Chairman Frank Lowy said after Westfield's annual meeting today that, "We are looking at the company, but then we are looking at lots of companies. If at any time it looks like a good opportunity, we will follow it up. We haven't determined if we are looking at singular assets as yet."

Last month Mills Corp, which is troubled by accounting issues and a federal investigation, announced that it may be forced to sell part or all of the company under a revised credit agreement with lenders.

Lowy also used the opportunity to update investors on the market. He said Westfield's centers had not yet seen a large impact from higher petrol prices. But Lowry also warned that the retail environment could also be affected by higher interest rates.

"Like any other expense, it will be a factor to our position, but we have seen strong sales in our centers and we haven't really seen an impact from high petrol prices so far," Lowy said.

Earlier, the chairman told the annual meeting that he was confident the company could continue to achieve high income returns and capital growth for investors. Westfield is the world's largest shopping mall owner by market value. It has a portfolio of 128 shopping centers with 22,500 retail outlets spread between the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.