THREE OUTLETS of the Japanese clothing line UNIQLO will be opened in the country this year under a partnership with the retail arm of SM Investments Corp., officials yesterday said in a briefing. 

This, as Fast Retailing Corp.’s UNIQLO bagged the certificate of investment from an attached agency at the Trade department. Ricky A. Lim, SM Retail, Inc.’s vice-president for controllership said the first UNIQLO outlet will be opened at the SM Mall of Asia in June, while the two others will be opened before the year ends. 

“We are very confident that the UNIQLO will be a big success in the Philippine because we have partner with SM,” Geraldine L. Sia, the country representative of Fast 

Retailing Corp., the owner of the Japanese clothing brand, said in her speech. “We hope that this would be as successful as Forever 21,” Mr. Lim added. UNIQLO is 13th foreign brand to obtain the certificate of investment after the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000 was enacted into a law, Trade Undersecretary Cristino S. Panlilio said.