SM Supermalls, a unit of SM Prime Holdings Inc., continues to expand its portfolio in China—particularly in Fujian Province—with the opening of two new malls in Xiamen and one in Fuzhou.
In an interview, SM Supermalls President Steven Tan said that next year, they will complete the fourth expansion phase of SM City Xiamen, which will include a boutique hotel.
“Right now, we've already opened the first part of Xiamen 4, and, including the hotel, it should be complete by next year. Xiamen is really progressive. If you total it all, it might actually be even bigger than Mall of Asia and Megamall,” said Tan.
SM first opened SM City Xiamen and then added SM Lifestyle Mall beside it. Last year, it opened the SM Xiamen 3 expansion mall.
According to Tan, SM is finalizing a deal with the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) for one of their brands to operate the boutique hotel, which will have over 100 rooms.
SM Prime is also opening another mall on the outskirts of Xiamen, which will also open by 2025.
“There was an opportunity. There was a new lot that was offered by the government. We studied it and it was good. That one is a single mall. This one isn't as big as the original Xiamen site, but it's not small,” said Tan.
He noted, “We feel that there's an opportunity there. Our head office is in Xiamen, so it's easier to control. This will be our second mall in Xiamen, since our original Xiamen mall already has four buildings. And it's doing extremely well. Take-up is also very good.”
Meanwhile, Tan said they are also building a mall in Fuzhou, which is also in Fujian province, and it should be complete and open by 2027, adding, “Right now, our focus is really more on the Fujian province, simply because of proximity.”
Other than Xiamen, Tan said SM Supermalls is also doing well in Xinjiang and Suzhou, as these cities have already bounced back from the impact of the pandemic. However, he said there is also the effect of the slowdown in China’s economy.
For its other malls in China, while they are not as strong as Xiamen, revenues are not falling, and SM remains resilient.
SM Prime President and CEO Jeffrey C. Lim said earlier this year that they intend to develop their existing land assets “because Fujian Province is a market where we are doing very well in China. We have nine malls in China, and we are in Chengdu, Chongqing, Tianjin, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Zibo, Jinjiang, and Fuzhou. Five of these areas are outside of Xiamen.”