SM Prime opens 5th mall in China

MANILA, Philippines - SM Prime Holdings Inc. opens today SM City Chongqing, its fifth shopping mall in China, in its bid to further widen its presence in Asia’s largest economy.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, SM Prime said the five-level SM Chongqing has a gross floor area of 149,080 square meters, 85 percent of which has already been taken up by various clients.

With its strategic location and transport accessibility, the mall will serve a population of approximately 30 million residents in the city of Chongqing.

 “We believe Chongqing is a significant market given the city’s huge population and its attractive growth prospects. As we learn more about the market and gain acceptance in China, we intend to penetrate other cities that show promising economic progress,” SM Prime president Hans T. Sy said.

The Chonqing mall adds to SM’s existing shopping centers in Xiamen, Jinjiang,  Chengdu and Suzho.

In the pipeline  are  Zibo and Tianjin, which are slated for opening  in 2014.

SM Prime’s four existing malls contributed nine percent or P1.9 billion to the company’s total revenues in the first nine months of the year.   The figure is 27.5 percent higher than the P1.49 billion contributed in 2011 due to  improvements in the average occupancy level, lease renewals, and the opening of SM Xiamen Lifestyle and SM Suzhou which added 182,000 sqm of gross floor area. The average occupancy rate for the four malls in China is now at 96 percent.

SM Chongqing is the sixth SM mall to be opened by SM Prime this year, after SM Olongapo in Zambales, SM  Consolacion in Cebu, SM San Fernando in Pampanga, SM Gen. Santos in South Cotabato and SM Lanang Premier in Davao.

SM Prime currently has a total of  51 malls in the Philippines and in China,  with a combined gross floor area of 6.3 million sqm.