SM is optimistic about 2023 and moving forward with growth and expansion to reach more communities.
"We are investing in the future growth of the Philippines as it continues to present tremendous potential," SM Investments Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Frederic C. DyBuncio said
The provinces with the fastest-growing local economies are where SM has been concentrating more of its efforts. Over 80% of SM's new retail locations are in rural provinces, which receive a sizable portion of the country's expanding remittances from abroad. SM Investments' retail division, SM Retail, now runs more than 3,300 grocery, specialty, and department stores.
The property development division of SM Investments, SM Prime Holdings Inc., is also preparing to concentrate on further expanding into the provinces, notably to cover the majority of Northern Luzon, Visayas, and the dynamic cities in Mindanao.
In 2022, SM Prime opened four malls: SM City Roxas, its first mall in the province of Capiz; SM City Tanza in the historical province of Cavite; SM City Sorsogon in the Bicol peninsula, serving as Luzon's entryway to the Visayas and Mindanao regions; and, most recently, SM City Tuguegarao in the province of Cagayan, its 82nd mall overall. SM Prime now operates 58 malls in rural areas and 24 malls in Metro Manila.
"Our businesses are still operating in many highly underpenetrated sectors and we intend to serve Philippine communities in more regions nationwide," Mr. DyBuncio said.
The residential division of SM Prime, SM Development Corporation, is prepared to grow and expand in the provinces with the improvement in employment, which is also expected to assist close the housing gap. The young population in the Philippines is also providing greater growth potential as they enter and engage in the real estate market.
In significant provincial cities as of 2022, SMDC has 18 residential developments. For the convenience of communities, SMDC introduced Vail Residences in Cagayan de Oro, Now Residences in Pampanga, and Zeal Residences in General Trias, Cavite, all of which were incorporated into SM Prime's malls and transportation hubs.
"The potential of the Philippines remains enormous with a young, energetic, service-oriented and still growing population. SM remains optimistic on Philippine growth driven by this market," Mr. DyBuncio said.
Through its hotels and conventions businesses, SM also keeps funding the Philippines' tourist potential. The Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay City, the Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club and the Pico Sands Hotel in Batangas, the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu, the Conrad Manila in Pasay City, and the Park Inn by Park Inn by Radisson hotels in North Edsa, Clark, Davao, Iloilo, and Bacolod are just a few of the nine world-class properties managed by the SM Hotels and Convention Centers Corporation
Recently, SM Hotels' convention division, SMX Convention Center, opened a convention facility in Clark, Pampanga. It is well situated next to the Park Inn by Radisson Clark, across from SM City Clark, and not far from Clark International Airport. This facility aims to help Northern Luzon become one of the top MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) destinations in the nation, thus enhancing the provinces' tourist potential.