Mall operator SM Prime Holdings Inc. is spending about P5 billion on new malls that are scheduled to open next year, an official of the publicly listed company said.

The malls are being constructed in Taytay town outside Manila, Muntinlupa City in Metro Manila, and Bacolod City, executive vice-president Jeffrey Lim said.

SM Bacolod is scheduled for opening in the first quarter of 2007, he said.

The projects are being financed with a combination of borrowings and internally generated cash, Lim said.

Scheduled to open on Sept. 22 this year is SM City Lipa, in the capital city of Batangas province, south of Manila.

It cost the company P900 million, and will bring the number of SM Prime’s malls to 27, Lim said.

The group’s 26th, SM Supercenter Pasig, in Metro Manila, opened last Saturday. It cost P350 million, Lim said.

Launched earlier were SM City Sta. Rosa, SM City Clark, and SM Mall of Asia, the group’s biggest so far.

Rental revenues from new malls and cinema ticket sales boosted SM Prime net income in the first half of the year by nine percent to P2.6 billion from P2.4 billion in the same period last year.

Total revenues jumped 17 percent to P6.09 billion from P5.2 billion. With INQ7.net