SMIC plans to spend P95B in 5 years

Capex will finance property development and  banking business

By Honey Madrilejos-Reyes

Reporter

SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the holding company controlled by the country’s richest man Henry Sy, is planning to spend P95 billion over the next five years to finance the projects of its core subsidiaries. At the sidelines of the company’s annual  stockholders meeting late Wednesday, SMIC executive vice president and chief finance officer Jose Sio said the group’s programmed capital expenditure could still change overtime depending on the performance of the economy. Bulk of the capex will go to mall development via SM Prime Holdings. The company’s ventures in property development and banking will also get a chunk of the huge allocation. This year alone, the company will allot P20 billion for shopping mall development, retail expansion, banking concerns and continuous property developments. Meanwhile, SMIC president Harley Sy said the group is in the process of rationalizing its various property assets under an umbrella organization called SM Land. SM Land would group assets related to residential, commercial and tourism property businesses. These assets are mostly owned by SM Development Corp. “We are in the process of putting together all our property assets under one roof and we’ll do that in a period of two years,” Sy said. The group, though, has no plans of listing SM Land at the stock exchange. Also, none of its property development units  would be de-listed. “SM Land is envisioned to be the mother company for all the property development businesses within the SMIC family but outside of the mall properties,” Sy added.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/04262007/companies01.html