SM Investments Corp. will acquire more lands in China as a part of an overseas expansion strategy, a company executive said Monday.

SM Investments executive vice president and chief financial officer Jose Sio said negotiations were under way for unit SM Prime Holdings to acquire big properties in the world’s second-largest economy.

“SM Prime Holdings is doing the negotiations,” Sio said at the sidelines of the listing of the company’s P25-billion bonds at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.  SM Prime is the country’s biggest mall developer and operator.

Sio said “the [Chinese] properties are big enough” but declined to mention the exact location of these properties.

Meanwhile, Sio said SM Investments sustained its earnings momentum in the first quarter of 2012 and second-quarter earnings are “a little better than the first.”

SM Investments booked a net income of P6 billion in the first quarter, up 13 percent from a year ago, as consolidated revenues increased 16 percent to P49.7 billion.

SM Investments’ stock advanced 2 percent to P739.50 Monday, the sharpest gain since June 27, while SM Prime climbed 2.8 percent to P13.76. Macquarie Securities Group analyst Alex Pomento raised his 12-month price target on SM Prime shares to P16.50 from P15.53.