MANILA, Philippines - Shopping mall giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. will open today (Sept. 23) its fourth mall in mainland China – SM City Suzhou in the province of Jiangsu, an emerging hot spot for economic development.
Jiangsu has one of the highest population densities in China and is home to many of the world’s leading exporters of electronic equipment, chemicals and textiles.
In its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday, SM Prime said SM City Suzhou has a gross floor area of 72,552 square meters, 89 percent of which have been awarded to tenants.
This would be in addition to the group’s three existing malls in China – SM City Xiamen and SM City Jinjiang (both located in Fujian province) and SM City Chengdu, which is in the province of Sichuan.
“We are very pleased to open the doors of our newest mall, SM City Suzhou in China. The mall’s launching affirms SM Prime’s keen objective to continue growing and expanding in areas of opportunity, even in those beyond the boundaries of the Philippines. It also confirms that the Filipinos have the needed knowledge, skills and talents to compete in a global arena. Thus, the company intends to open several more new malls in China in the coming years,” Hans Sy, president of SM Prime, said.
The city of Suzhou, with a population of approximately 6.3 million, is known for its rich cultural attractions such as temples, gardens and ancient water towns.
The group’s retail sales in China have grown more than 11.5 percent in the past five years.
SM Prime intends to open at least one new mall a year in China. By the end of 2014, it expects a total of 1.5 million sqm of mall space in the world’s second largest economy.
SM City Suzhou is the second SM mall to be opened this year, after SM City Masinag in Antipolo, Rizal. This brings SM Prime’s total store network in the Philippines and in China, to 45, with a combined gross floor area of 5.7 million sqm.
For the rest of the year, SM Prime is slated to open an expanded SM City San Fernando in Pampanga, SM City Olongapo in Zambales and SM Marketmall in Dasmariñas, Cavite.
The company is also set to expand SM City Davao in Southern Mindanao and SM City Dasmariñas in Cavite.