Second SM mall in Cebu to open by 2011

CEBU CITY — SM Prime Holdings, Inc. is in talks to buy a property that it seeks to develop into a mall that will serve the northern towns of Cebu. Marissa N. Fernan, SM Prime senior vice-president for the Visayas and Mindanao, said negotiations were in the final stages and a second SM mall in Cebu was expected to open by 2011. SM Prime is hoping to acquire a property with an abandoned building in Consolacion town, a second-class municipality about 12 kilometers north of the city. "They're finalizing the terms. This will be smaller, about 35,000 to 55,000 square meters," Fernan added. The SM City Cebu mall, which is the fourth largest in the SM network, has a floor area of 130,000 square meters or 13 hectares. An SM Hypermart is also expected to open in 2011 as the anchor store of J Mall, a three-hectare mall being developed in Mandaue by the Uy family, who also owns fruit processor Profood International, Inc. The two new SM outlets will open ahead of the proposed 26-hectare mall at the South Road Properties, the reclaimed property of the Cebu City government in the southern part of the city. SM Prime has proposed to acquire a 30-hectare lot within the South Road Properties and build a mall that's twice as big as SM City Cebu, as well as an exhibition center, two hotels and a condominium. Meanwhile, Fernan said the firm would roll out the "Global Pinoy" program and other special programs in Cebu next year. Under the Global Pinoy program, a lounge for Filipino workers overseas and their families will be opened at SM City Cebu in January. The lounge will offer free calls, remittance services, personal finance seminars and consultations with government agencies. Spending by Filipinos overseas and their relatives have helped fuel SM City Cebu's sales growth, Fernan said. The Cebu mall is among the top five contributors to SM Prime revenues, she added. SM has 35 malls nationwide, with Mall of Asia as the largest and the SM North Edsa as the biggest earner. — Marites S. Villamor, BusinessWorld