SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s largest shopping mall operator and developer, will build a P1.5-billion shopping mall in Novaliches, Quezon City after acquiring a huge property from the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. 

SM Investments Corp. chief finance officer Jose Sio told the StandardToday, that the company recently purchased the five-hectare property in San Bartolome, Novaliches, right in front of the head office of Associated Broadcasting Co., or ABC-5. 

Sio declined to say the purchase price. He said the company was finalizing the design of the mall and planned to start construction by next year.

 “We have already lined up our projects this year so we will start the Novaliches mall next year,” Sio said. Girl Scouts of the Philippines bought the five-hectare camping site in Novaliches in 1957. 

The physical assets of the site included a two-story concrete house complete with living, dining, play and study rooms and bedrooms, plus a kitchen, baths, comfort rooms, maids’ quarters and garage, a swimming pool, a 6,000 gallon capacity water tank and a 7,000-watt electric generator. 

The Novaliches mall will be SM Prime’s third in Quezon City, after SM North Edsa and SM Fairview, and the 14th in Metro Manila. 

The company earlier said that it planned to spend P33 billion over the next five years for the construction of new and expansion of existing malls. 

SM Prime this year is spending P6 billion in capital expenditure as it plans to open three shopping malls, namely SM Rosales, SM Baliuag and SM Marikina. 

SM Prime is also looking to construct three to four malls in China over the next five years. 

SM Prime last year acquired three shopping malls in China owned by the Sy family through a share swap agreement.
The company operates 30 malls nationwide as of end- 2007 with a combined gross floor area of 3.9 million square meters and an average daily pedestrian count of 2.5 million. 

SM Prime’s net income in 2007 reached P6 billion, up 10 percent from P5.4 billion in 2006. 

Gross revenues rose 16 percent to P15.3 billion due to the opening of three new malls and the expansion of three. 

Rental revenue in the period grew 17 percent to P12.8 from P11 billion in 2006 while cinema ticket sales improved 15 percent to P1.8 billion versus a year-ago level of P1.6 billion.