THE SM Group has opened a convention center in Davao City, a statement on Monday showed.

SM Hotels and Conventions Corp., considered to be a leading player in the country’s MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) industry, opened SMX Convention Center Davao, which is situated at the third level of the newly opened SM Lanang Premier Mall.

The facility will offer 5,240 square meters of total leasable space, consisting of function rooms,  meeting rooms  and  the lobby.

The convention center is 2.5 kilometers from the Davao International Airport, 4 to 6 kilometers from the domestic and international seaports, and is within close proximity to several hotels, business areas and tourist destinations, SM said in the statement.

“As the largest privately owned and managed convention center in the southern Philippines, SMX Convention Center Davao aims to meet the increasing demand for leasable space, arising greater numbers of MICE events in the region,” SM said.  

The SMX Convention Center Davao is the latest addition to SM Hotels and Conventions Corp.’s portfolio, which includes the largest privately owned convention center in the country, the SMX Convention Center in the Mall of Asia Complex, as well as the Megatrade Hall in Megamall and the Cebu Trade Hall.  

A third convention center, this time in Taguig, is set to open in early 2013.