Philippine tycoon Henry Sy 's SM group is to accelerate its shopping mall expansion in China after 2010, by building two to three new malls each year.
"If you have business there, the potential is huge," said JoseSio, chief investment officer of SM Investments Corp (SMIC). "I think beyond next year we have to review whether we should accelerate."
At present, the SM group has three shopping malls in China and is set to open the fourth one in the coming year. The group now opens only one new shopping mall each year. It plans to increase the shopping malls in China to eight or ten for any initial public offering, he said.
The fourth mall is located in Suzhou with a total floor space of 73,000 square meters. It is under construction and will be opened early next year. The next two outlets, located in the cities of Chongqing and Zibo, are scheduled to open in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
SMIC is the largest holding firm in the Philippines. Its core businesses are retailing, shopping mall development and leasing, banking and residential property development. A fifth division -- focused on hotel and tourism development -- has been recently added in its portfolio.>
