LISTED property developer SM Prime Holdings, Inc. is prioritizing expansion of its mall business in the Philippines due to competitive advantages, while its operations in China remain stable, Executive Committee Chairman Hans T. Sy said.
“I’m stepping up the (mall) expansion here because we have the advantage. Over there (in China), there’s just so much competition,” Mr. Sy told reporters on the sidelines of the National Retail Conference and Expo in Pasay City last week.
He said that SM Prime’s mall business in China, consisting of eight malls, is “standing on its own” in terms of development. In contrast, the company has 86 malls in the Philippines.
“Organically, it may grow one mall every two years. It’s the momentum that we are building up still,” he said.
“We don’t send money to China anymore. They are the ones making it grow,” he noted. “Contrary to what people are talking about, the malls are doing very well.”
He also said that SM Prime is on track with its reclamation project, adding that there are ongoing talks regarding possible partnerships for development.
The budget for the reclamation is almost P150 billion, according to Mr. Sy.
“We have already caught up. We’re very much on time after the suspension. What we’re doing right now is basic reclamation. We’ve started some negotiations already. It is not something that we will do by ourselves. We definitely have to join with other people,” he said.
“It’s a five-year project. It started two years ago, so we still have three more years to go. When we say five years, at least ready for development. All of the infrastructure, the road, everything will be ready,” he added.
The reclamation is for the 360-hectare SM Smart City development connected to the Mall of Asia Complex. SM Smart City is planned as a mixed-use development similar to the Mall of Asia reclamation project.
SM Prime is set to complete and hand over the project to the Pasay City local government by 2028.
“We will do the whole reclamation, after which when we start dividing the land, that’s where the joint venture comes in. We would have this big case of land, then we will invite some other developers to join up and then do the development,” Mr. Sy said.
SM Engineering Design & Development Corp. President Hans T. Sy, Jr. told reporters separately that the land portion of the reclamation project will be completed by the end of 2025.
“Our timetable right now is that we should see the completion of the land by end of next year, hopefully, and then we still have some infrastructure work that needs to be done,” he said.
“That’s just land. You might see some roads but it’s just the base property. Today, what we see is about 100 hectares,” he added.
For the first half of the year, SM Prime saw a 13% increase in consolidated net income to P22.1 billion as consolidated revenue rose by 8% to P64.7 billion.
SM Prime shares were last traded on Aug. 30, closing at P30.95 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
