SMIC looking for more acquisition opportunities

MANILA, Philippines — SM Investments Corp., the conglomerate of taipan Henry Sy, is still on the lookout for acquisition opportunities related to its core businesses.

“We are interested…be it the right product at the right price, be it retail, be it bank or be it property,” SMIC chairman Jose Sio said on Friday on the sidelines of SharePhil’s fifth summit.

Sio noted for instance that the conglomerate could still beef up its mall presence in Southern Luzon. 

“We still don’t have a lot of malls in Southern Luzon such as in Marinduque and Mindoro,” Sio said.

But he stressed that SMIC would only look at opportunities with caution and with a long-term view.  

Any acquisition, Sio said, would only be related to the company’s core businesses – retail, property and banking.  

“We will look with caution. We will look at the long-term view, the management style and we will stick to our core businesses,” he said, adding that “the conglomerate does not like to delve into areas where it has no capabilities.” 

Meanwhile, Sio said SM Prime has grand plans to develop and manage the seven-hectare Harrison Plaza complex into a larger mixed used development.  

Sio said it’s a good area wherein the SM Group could expand its existing mall and build residential developments as well.

Harrison Plaza, an iconic fixture in Manila, is located across the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Pablo Ocampo Street in Malate, Manila. It is among the country’s first modern shopping centers, but through the years it has lagged behind other more modern retail complexes in the city. 

SMIC posted a 10 percent growth in first quarter income to P8.5 billion.

This was on the back of an 11 percent growth in consolidated revenue to P95 billion from P85.4 billion in the same quarter in 2017. 
The company continues to build on the strong 2017 performance with revenue rising faster in the first quarter. 

 “Looking ahead we remain cautiously optimistic about underlying consumption trends despite inflationary pressures,” he said. 

SMIC’s businesses include property, banking and retail. It is among the country’s biggest conglomerate and continues to expand even outside Metro Manila.

Sio said the country is seeing a major transformation in business and the conglomerate will make sure it won’t be left behind. 

The Sy-owned conglomerate named Sio as its new chairman last year, taking over the post long held by family patriarch Henry Sy.