SM Prime shifts dev’t focus to provinces, unserved areas

Top property developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. will shift its focus on projects in the provinces to cater to the “unserved” housing sector, SM Prime President Hans Sy said. 

As part of its P60 billion three-year expansion program, SM Prime will be launching new mixed-use developments in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ejica; Pampanga; and Cavite in the second half of this year.

“SM Prime’s mall expansion program remains focused on the provinces that present major opportunities for higher growth and where many areas remain unserved In the housing sector, we will continue to serve the Metro Manila area, but will slowly move toward the provincial areas in the medium term. The emergence of the Philippine economy will allow us to be of greater service to as many communities as we could possibly reach,” Sy said.

SM Development Corp. (SMDC) will launch 11,000 to 14,000 units in Quezon City, Bicutan and Sucat in Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Pasay at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Complex.

The company will open this year SM City Trece Martires in Cavite, SM City San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, SM Cherry Congressional, SM City East Ortigas, and SM Cherry Antipolo.

Sy said SM will also soon open the Galleon Museum in the MOA Complex to bring to life the country’s rich Manila-Acapulco trade heritage. SM Prime is expanding SM City Calamba and SM City Naga and owning by end-2016 a total of 61 malls in the Philippines and six malls in China, with an estimated combined gross floor area (GFA) of 8.6 million square meters.

Commercial properties are under construction in the MOA complex, namely ThreeE-Com and FourE-Com Centers, scheduled for completion in 2018 and 2019, respectively and expected to add 236,000 sqm of GFA.

SM Prime will open this second semester the 347-room Conrad Manila, the first 6-star hotel of the Hilton hotel brand in the country and the first certified U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED in the MOA Complex.

A cash dividend of P0.23 per share was declared, amounting to P6.64 billion, in favor of all stockholders of record as of April 29 and payable on May 12. This is equivalent to 35 percent of last year’s Philippine net income, excluding one-time gain on marketable securities.

SM Prime shareholders recently elected Executive Vice President Jeffrey Lim as the newest member of its board. RIZA LOZADA