Retail magnate Henry Sy is planning to go regional within three to five years and, with the Retail Trade Liberalization Law now in place, the retail giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH) is willing to accept foreign partners for local projects.
Speaking before the Management Association of the Philippines yesterday, Sy said SMPH is sticking to its core business of retailing even as it expands its business nationwide and in the Asian region.
SMPH is undertaking a multi-billion development project, the Mall of Asia, located in a five-hectare reclamation area along Roxas Boulevard.
"In the middle of the Asian crisis, I am embarking on the greatest project of my life," Sy said as he received MAP's Management Man of the Year Award for 1999. "I thought SM City-North EDSA was big enough but I was wrong. So I had to make SM Megamall but even Megamall is no longer big enough so I have to create something even better."
SMPH executive vice president Teresita Sy-Coson told reporters that the company has begun exploring regional markets for the possibility of opening offshore branches of the SM mall chain.
According to her, SMPH is refocusing its efforts and resources back into the core business of mall development and retailing and part of this is exploring expansion possibilities abroad.
"Our strategy now is to go back to the basics," she explained. "But we are also looking to expand our market." She declined to identify the possible locations for the company's mall projects but she ruled out Hong Kong, explaining that competition is already too tight in the former crown colony.
Coson also revealed that SMPH is more than open to join up with foreign retail companies as the Philippine retail trade opens up to foreign investors under the new Retail Trade Liberalization Act.
"Competition caused by globalization is inevitable," Sy said, adding that the company has been receiving joint venture offers from foreign groups but has so far not received a proposal that is acceptable.
"We are always being approached but none of these offers so far have been attractive enough for us," she said.
Sy also disclosed that SMPH is right on track with its Mall of Asia project along Roxas Boulevard, tagged as one of the biggest mall development projects in the world.
Sy said the reclamation process is well under way and is in the packing stage to ensure stable and solid foundation for the five-hectare project.
Sy said the Mall of Asia will be SMPH's launching pad for its expansion plans in the region. -