Undaunted by the tension brewing between China and the Philippines over scarborough reef, mall developer and operator SM Prime will not slow its expansion plans in China.

SM Prime CFO Jeffrey Lim said SM is looking to develop five new projects in China, most to be located in Fujian province. SM Prime currently operates malls in Jinjiang, Xiamen, Chengdu and Suzhou, totaling a gross floor area of 645,172 sqm. SM China malls generated a total revenues of 620 million pesos (US$14.45 million) which accounts for nine per cent of the group’s total revenue.

It is currently developing its largest shopping mall in Tianjin city and plans to open in Chongqing this year and in Zibo by 2014.

SM Prime sees tremendous opportunities in China, its second largest market, where the middle class population is rapidly increasing. China expansion is also part of SM Prime’s strategy to list China assets on either the Singapore or Hong Kong stock exchanges with the aim of raising US$500 million through initial public offering by 2015.

SM Prime will raise 7 billion pesos (US$163.17 million) from the sale of corporate notes with maturity of five, seven and 10 years to be arranged by First Metro Investment Corporation. The proceeds are planned to used for expansion.

This year’s allocation for expansion in the Philippines will be 14 billion pesos (US$326.34 million) and 7 billion pesos (US$163.17 million) in China. SM Prime’s total revenue in the first quarter grew by 16 per cent to 7.03 billion pesos (US$163.87 million) and net income was up by 15 per cent to 2.43 billion pesos (US$56.64 million).

GB