SM Prime Holdings—the real estate developer controlled by the billionaire Sy family’s SM Investments—will spend 500 billion pesos ($9 billion) over five years to expand its property footprint across the Philippines.
The Manila-based builder is embarking on its boldest expansion and diversification since it opened its first mall in 1985 to tap the nation’s growing affluence, according to SM Prime Chairman Henry Sy Jr.
“We have to keep on expanding and spending more because opportunities keep on growing,” Sy told Forbes Asia on the sidelines of SM Investments’ recent stockholders meeting held at the Conrad Manila, which is part of the group’s hotel portfolio. “There are many who want to live, shop and work in a better environment than what we have right now.”
SM Prime is stepping up its expansion as main rivals Ayala Land and Robinsons Land expand their portfolio of shopping malls, offices and hotels. Over the next five years, SM Prime plans to build 10 to 15 new shopping malls and as many as five integrated property projects including the 360-hectare reclamation project across Manila Bay. It also plans to open eight hotels, two convention centers, and a dozen office and residential towers, and four upscale residential developments, company president Jeffrey Lim said, adding the projects will be funded mainly by its cash flows.
“We have to be at the forefront of our country’s progress and its development,” Sy said. “We can’t just rely on the government and foreign investors.”
SM Prime is the country’s largest mall operator, owning 87 shopping complexes with a combined gross floor area of 9.4 million sqm. It also has 10 hotels with over 2,600 rooms, eight convention centers and more than 22 office buildings.
The company is expanding as its parent SM Investments plans a $1 billion stock buyback, the nation’s biggest ever, to bolster the conglomerate’s stock price that’s deemed undervalued by its management and shareholders.
SM Prime’s expansion plans and the stock buyback will not strain the group’s cash flow, which is growing in tandem with the group’s businesses, said Frederick DyBuncio, CEO of SM Investments.
The group traces its roots to Henry Sy Sr., who sold overrun shoes in 1958 at a store in Manila he aptly called Shoemart. Following his death in 2019, his six children—Teresita, Elizabeth, Henry Jr, Hans, Herbert and Harley—inherited his fortune. With a net worth of $13 billion, the family is among the richest in the Philippines. Apart from its real estate portfolio, SM Investments has interests in banking, energy, retail, mining and shipping.
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