SM buys into DoubleDragon’s community mall unit

MANILA, Philippines — SM Investments Corp. has struck up a partnership with DoubleDragon Properties Corp., a real estate joint venture between entrepreneur Edgar “Injap” Sia II and Jollibee group founder Tony Tan Caktiong that will  soon debut on the local stock exchange, for the development of a new chain of community shopping malls.

In a press statement on Monday, DoubleDragon announced that it had signed a deal on Monday allowing SMIC to acquire 34 percent of its shopping mall arm CityMall Commercial Centers Inc. (CMCCI). The former will keep a 66 percent interest in the community mall development arm.

CMCCI was recently incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of DoubleDragon intended to be the umbrella company for community mall projects around the country to be branded  “CityMall.”

The CityMall chain is envisioned to become one of the largest branded independent community mall networks in the Philippines with floor areas of about 5,000 to 10,000 square meters at each location and will be located in strategic locations, mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao.

All CityMalls are planned to have the same theme, color and look, making the mall design a brand in itself. The food area will be a “food court” concept to complement the existing full-sized fast food stores near CityMall. The community malls will not only provide prime “food court” spaces to the top fast-food brands such as Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon and Highlands Coffee but also to other popular non-food anchor retail tenants that will complement the whole development, DoubleDragon said.

The supermarket area and other retail spaces of each CityMall are envisioned to cater to various retailers, including those affiliated with the SM Group brands such as Savemore, Ace Hardware, Watsons, Home World, Kultura, Our Home, Sports Central, Surplus Shop, Toy Kingdom, SM Appliance, Banco de Oro and China Bank but also to other non-food retail brands.

CityMall, described as a “greenergized” mall, will be equipped with solar panels and rain water collection systems to conserve the environment and optimize efficiency.

CMCCI recently completed the acquisition of a 12,654-sqm piece of land on Arnaldo Boulevard in Roxas City which will be the site of the first CityMall. This is expected to be completed by December 2014.

Capital spending for this portfolio of community malls called “CityMall” will account for the bulk of proceeds from a P1.16-billion initial public offering planned by DoubleDragon, which recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission an application to sell 579.73 million new shares to the public at an offer price of up to P2 per share.