(Bloomberg) -- SM Investments Corp. aims to further expand its core property, retail and banking businesses as the Philippines’ most valuable company counts on rising employment and incomes to support growth, a top official said.
“The elements supporting consumption are in place,” Franklin Gomez, executive vice president for finance, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Avril Hong and Paul Allen on Wednesday. The Southeast Asian nation’s young population, robust remittances from Filipinos overseas and a resilient business process outsourcing industry are favorable indicators, he said.
There’s a “huge room for the group to grow its footprint,” Gomez said, adding that only about a third of the nation’s retail market are in modern trade and regions outside Metro Manila are growing faster than the capital.
SM owns BDO Unibank Inc., SM Prime Holdings Inc. and SM Retail Inc., the nation’s biggest lender, shopping mall operator and retailer, respectively. Shares of the conglomerate owned by the family of the late tycoon Henry Sy are up 5% this year, tracking the benchmark stock index’s 4% gain.
The company is looking to invest more in logistics and renewable energy, Gomez said, citing the country’s requirements. “We have our hands full, but we do continue to look at the opportunities that may come up,” he said. “We’re very patient in building our portfolio.”
SM recently established a $3 billion multi-issuer euro medium term note program to fund its expansion. The group, which last month raised $500 million from bonds out of the program, will tap the balance when market conditions are favorable, he said.
--With assistance from Anand Menon.
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