Magazines Archives - 2008 September

Mall developers still bullish about Philippine market
Story 7 - Focus

New retail space continues to come on stream in the Philippines, with mixed-use projects a growing trend, as developers, driven by demand in the shopping nation, remain bullish despite soaring prices and economic uncertainties. Tina Arceo-Dumlao reports.

As long as Filipinos overseas continue to send money home to their families, the retail industry will keep chugging along.

It also explains the optimism of SM Prime Holdings, owner of the SM mall chain — the country’s biggest — even in the present challenging market conditions marked by high oil and food prices.

“Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) continue to be strong, with the full-year estimate close to US$17 billion,” projects the group’s executive vice-president, Jeffrey Lim.

In the shopping-driven Philippine economy, retail has, over the years, “accounted for at least 72% of the country’s gross domestic product”, he says.

No stranger to investing in difficult times, the group opened the SM City North Edsa mall just before the Edsa revolution of 1982 and the SM Megamall during the coup attempts on the Aquino administration, Lim recalls, adding that even the Mall of Asia was planned during the 1997 Asian crisis.

Thus, it is no surprise that the SM group is pushing ahead to add 264,000sqm to its gross floor area this year, and another 377,000sqm next year.

New malls slated to be opened this year are those in Marikina, Rosales, Pangasinan and Baliuag, Bulacan. SM will also expand the Fairview mall and Megamall. These will be joined next year by those outside Metro Manila in Naga of Camarines Sur, Pamplona in Las Pinas, Rosario in Cavite and Calamba in Laguna, along with the scheduled expansion of the North Edsa branch.

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