SM unlikely to add new listing for now

MANILA, Philippines — The Sy family’s SM Group is far from adding a new member to its impressive roster of publicly listed companies, with its own real estate investment trust (REIT) still likely to be the next candidate — although it may not be happening anytime soon.

In an interview, SM Prime executive committee chairman Hans Sy told The STAR that the SM Group, with its diverse portfolio of companies, has nothing in the pipeline in the near term for a potential initial public offering.

“We felt that with SM Prime and SM Investments, it’s enough already. We don’t want to split up the company too much. We’d rather be known as the representative of the Philippine market. But we will continue to make everything grow,” Sy said.

SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the holding company of the SM Group, and integrated property developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. are both listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange.

SM Group companies BDO Unibank Inc. and China Banking Corp. are also publicly listed firms.

Sy, however, said that SM Prime is not closing its doors on a REIT offering.

“But so far, not yet,” he said.

“Right now, I am still not convinced how it will contribute to the growth of the group. Because the cash flow of the company is very stable so we don’t really need to go out. But we’ll see, if the time comes. But I would not say totally no,” Sy said.

SM Prime decided to postpone the firm’s REIT initial public offering last year given the interest rate environment and market volatility.

The company previously said that it would revisit its planned $1 billion REIT listing this year, but noted that pushing through with the offering would also depend on the company’s need to raise funds.

SMIC and SM Prime last year established a $3-billion multi-issuer Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) program, which will allow the companies to tap the offshore bond market to fund its continued growth and expansion.

SMIC raised $500 million from the first tranche of its EMTN program in July last year, marking its largest offshore bond issuance since 2014.

“We just wanted to make sure we are ready for any situation. That is how we approach things so far,” Sy said.

“We are on a wait-and-see situation because of something beyond everybody’s control. The geopolitics is there. But our biggest advantage really is the company is so stable in terms of cash flow,” he said.

The SM Group, through SMIC, has investments in diversified sectors that include retail, banking and property.