SM plans 5 new malls in Mindanao until 2020
DAVAO CITY — SM Prime Holdings Inc. is setting up five new malls in Mindanao between now and 2020, including its second one in Cagayan de Oro City that is set to open by mid-2017, a company official announced.
Oliver John R. Tiu, vicepresident for operations, said in a press conference here that the company is eyeing 15 additional malls nationwide by 2018, three of which will be in Mindanao.
SM’s second mall in Cagayan de Oro, the SM CDO Downtown Premier, will be its biggest in the southern island in terms of floor area at 150,000 square meters (sq.m.), about 20,000 sq.m. more than the SM Lanang Premier in Davao City.
Two other malls are targeted for opening in 2018, one in Butuan City in the Caraga Region and the other in Tagum City, Davao del Norte province.
The two others being planned are in Zamboanga City and Toril in the southwestern part of Davao City.
“We are still completing our market study ( for Zamboanga City),” said Mr. Tiu, noting that the company is considering either building a new mall or expanding a department store, which it currently co-owns with a local firm.
The proposed mall in Toril would be SM’s third in Davao City, where SM Prime built its first Mindanao branch — the SM City Ecoland — in 2001.
Mr. Tiu said the planned Toril mall is positioned to also serve the consumer markets in southern and central parts of Mindanao, particularly the provinces of Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental and North Cotabato.
“On the average, the company spends about P2 billion for every new mall,” Mr. Tiu said.
Earlier this year, SM Prime Vice- President for Finance Teresa Cecilia Reyes-Agsalud said in telephone interview that the Sy family-led company has set a P50 billion to P55 billion capital expenditure budget for 2017, mainly for shopping and residential projects. —