SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the listed holding firm controlled by shopping-mall magnate Henry Sy, has entered into a management agreement with Singapore-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide Asia-Pacific for the operation of the two hotels to be built within the SM Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.

The company said the agreement will allow Carlson to manage the hotels under the Regent and Radisson brands, the structure for which will be built by an SMIC unit, Hotel Specialists Inc. The Carlson group is a leading global corporate-solutions and consumer-services provider in the marketing, travel and hospitality industries.

It owns the brands T.G.I. Friday’s and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, among others. The project showcases a unique hotel-within-a-hotel design in which the two hotels will share the same building, with the luxurious Regent Manila Bay City housed within the Radisson Hotel Manila Bay City.

Both, however, will have their own separate driveways, entrances, lobbies, guest facilities and staff. The Radisson will have 500 guest rooms, while the Regent will offer 80 large and plush suites, including a 400-square-meter presidential suite.

The two hotels will have first-rate amenities, such as business centers, swimming pools, fine-dining restaurants and extensive function facilities.

The SM group is expected to spend P2.4 billion for the project, with an expected completion date in late 2009. Construction of the hotel will start middle of this year with KKS International Pte. Ltd as the architectural designer. Merril Yu, senior vice president of SM’s Hotel Investment Group, said, “The hotel project is a much-welcomed and highly anticipated addition to the rapidly developing SM Mall of Asia Complex.

The two hotels’ prime location creates a vibrant customer base for us, given their proximity to the country’s largest mall, the SM Mall of Asia, and to SMX Convention Center, which today is the country’s largest privately owned venue for trade shows and other high-density events.�?

Earlier, SMIC tapped European hotel operator Accor to run its P2.8-billion hotel in Mactan, Cebu. The five-star hotel has 400 rooms and will be branded as Sofitel. It is expected to open by December 2008.

Accor is the European leader in hotels and tourism and operates over 3,800 hotels with 450,000 rooms in 90 countries. Its hotel chains are known worldwide under the names Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel and All Seasons, among others.

Yu said the Hotel Investment Group is positioned as a progressive development group that will optimize multiple investment vehicles in travel and tourism, and consequently add value to the existing businesses of SM.