Amid peril of nCoV, SM malls in China open for business

Property giant SM Prime Holdings will keep open its shopping malls in seven sites in mainland China, but it is adopting a safety protocol to deal with the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

Asked about its operations in China, where most of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) cases were reported, SM Supermalls management replied to the Inquirer that “in the interest of public service, our China malls remain open to provide needed supplies.”

“We are in close contact with local government authorities and abide by mandated guidelines,” the SM management said.

SM Prime deems China as a new frontier for growth, although its expansion in this market has slowed down in recent years. To date, it has seven malls, which are located in Xiamen, Jinjiang, Chengdu, Suzhou, Chongqing, Zibo and Tianjin. These malls have a combined footprint of 1.26 million square meters in terms of gross floor area.

To ensure the continued safety of its customers, SM Supermalls has deployed a sanitation team “that continually disinfects common areas with heavy customer contact such as escalator handrails and elevator buttons.”

The comfort rooms of these China malls are also being sanitized every 30 minutes, while sanitary hand gel pumps are installed in all entrance points.

Posters are placed in entrances containing the latest information bulletins vetted by the China’s health department and the World Health Organization.

All security guards and mall personnel were required to wear face masks, the management added.

Global debt watchdog Moody’s Investor Service said while the impact of the novel coronavirus was primarily on human health, the risk of contagion was affecting economic activity and financial markets. INQ