Ownership of premium retail centres in Sydney - including the Queen Victoria Building, The Strand Arcade and Chatswood Chase - has changed in an asset swap valued at more than $1 billion between Australian retail property group Vicinity Centres and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Government Investment Corp.

It is one of the biggest such retail asset swaps and ownership changes in Sydney's CBD and will significantly increase Vicinity's CBD-based retail footprint along the eastern seaboard.

Retail analysts have given the deal a tick, saying it will be earnings positive for Vicinity.

In Sydney, the direct exposure to City Centre assets for Vicinity increases from 11 per cent to 15 per cent.

The shopping arcades generate some of the highest sales per square metre per annum in the country.