THE Philippines’ largest retailer said it has raised fresh money through the sale of new shares, putting off a plan to augment capital through a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) offering amid the government’s delay in implementing the law.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), SM Prime Holdings Inc. said the company has raised $150 million, or P6.55 billion from an equity placement comprised of 569.608-million common shares at P11.50 apiece.

SM Prime said it conducted an overnight book building process, which generated strong interest from institutional investors in Asia, Europe and the United States.

Proceeds of the share sale would be used to finance SM Prime’s expansion in the Philippines and China, as well as for general working capital requirements.

The mall developer initially planned to raise $500 million through a REIT offering, but fiscal authorities have delayed the issuance of rules pertaining to the tax perks that issuers may enjoy.

The Department of Finance insists that REIT companies that want to list at the PSE should sell at least 51 percent of their shares to the public, and invest half of the proceeds of their share sale in infrastructure projects in the first year alone.

Jeffrey Lim, SM Prime executive vice president and chief finance officer, said the delay in the implementation of the REIT Law “is one of the reasons” for the equity placement.

“We also have to move on and continue with our programs,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

“This equity fund raising, together with the proposed SM Prime REIT [initial public offering] which will be pursued as soon as the implementing rules are finalized, will put SM Prime in a very strong position to continue growing our businesses,” he added.

Macquarie Capital (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. and CLSA Asia Pacific acted as joint book runners for the equity placement.

SM Prime will spend approximately P23.63 billion for the development of new malls in Suzhou, Chongqing, Shandong and Tianjin —all in mainland China—where the company plans to build a shopping center bigger than the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

In 2011, it plans to open four shopping centers in Commonwealth, Masinag, Davao and General Santos City.

On Friday, SM Prime would open SM City Calamba, its 39th shopping mall in the country and its third in the province of Laguna.

The new mall has a gross floor area of 66,516 square meters with a leasable area of 44,740 square meters, 82 percent of which has already been awarded to various tenants.

The company is set to open SM City Novaliches in Quezon City on October 22. Its fourth mall in mainland China, which will be located in the city of Suzhou, will also begin commercial operations before the end of the year.

By year-end, the company is expected to have 40 malls in the Philippines, with a total gross floor area of 4.8 million square meters.

The company’s profit grew by 10 percent in the first six months to P3.8 billion from P3.4 billion last year on the back of improved consumer spending. SM Prime shares were unchanged at P11.98 each on Thursday.