Philippines-based supermarket operator Puregold Price Club has bought nine rival stores in Nueva Ecija and other provinces north of Manila.

In a stock exchange filing Puregold said the supermarkets were acquired from Nueva Ecija-based retailer NE Inc and are located in Cabanatuan and San Jose, Nueva Ecija; Baliwag, Bulacan; Baler, Aurora and Santiago, Isabela.

“The additional stores will also make Puregold the dominant retail player in the province of Nueva Ecija,” the statement said.

Puregold is the Philippines’ second largest grocery store network and is owned by Lucio Co, described by the Philippine Star newspaper as a “retail tycoon”.

Co’s investment company Cos also bought five commercial buildings from NE, three of which will be converted into community malls in in Baler, San Jose City and Cabanatuan.

Last year Co bought NE Pacific Shopping Centers Corp, owner of the 35,000sqm NE Pacific, the city’s largest shopping centre.

Meanwhile, Puregold plans to invest about US$57 million billion to open 25 new supermarkets this year.