Shopping mall giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. is planning to raise P5 billion through the debt market next year to fund its capital expenditures and refinance debt.

SM Prime chief finance officer and executive vice president Jeffrey Lim said the company is still studying what option to take to repay US$ 70 million in debt maturing in October  and fund its 2009 capital expenditure set at P6 billion to P7 billion.

“We received proposals from several banks and are still looking at our options like what instrument would be best for us,” he said.

Lim said SM Prime is opening three new stores next year – SM Naga, which will offer 73,000 square meters of leasable space; SM Rosario in Cavite, which will add 50,000 square meters to total leasable space; and SM Pamplona in Las Piñas (40,000 square meters).

Aside from these three new malls, SM Prime is also set to open North Edsa Sky Garden, the expansion of its SM North Edsa branch – which will provide an additional 34,000 square meters of space.

The group’s total branch network will increase to 36 by end-2009 from 33 this year.  Total gross floor area is likewise expected to grow to 4.5 million square meters from the projected 4.3 million square meters end this year.

 Harley Sy, President of SM Prime’s parent firm SM Investments Corp., said the listed holding firm bullish on the economy’s prospects in spite of an increasingly harsh business climate worldwide.

“2009 will definitely be a challenging year for us.  We will be affected but not as bad as the other countries.  We believe that the group is still poised for growth,” Sy said.

He said the SM group remains keen on acquisitions.  “ We have always been consistent.  We’re ready to take advantage of every opportunity that will come our way.  We have always been consistent.”.

Jorge T. Mendiola, SM Prime senior vice-president for retail operations, said sales have grown 19 percent in October and November, spurred by OFW (overseas Filipino workers) spending.  For December, sales have so far increased more than 20 percent.

The upward trend in sales is seen to continue with the opening of SM Baliwag in Bulacan, SM Prime’s 33rd mall and its last for the year.  The mall occupies 93,000 square meters of land and has a gross floo area of 61,554 square meters.

 The opening of the  Annex at SM North Edsa on December 12 is also expected to boost SM Prime’s  sales.

SM Prime is also pursuing its expansion in China with plans to put up one new store a year.  Its malls in China  are located in highly populated areas in southern and western China, namely, Xiamen, Jinjiang and Chengdu.

 Plans are now underway for the establishment of a mall in Chongquing with two more planned in 2010 and 2011 – Suzhou and Zibo in Guangdong province.

In the nine months ending September this year, SM Prime posted a net income of P4.7 billion, up nine percent from the previous level on the back of new store openings. Revenues expanded by 10 percent to P12.8 billion while gross earnings rose 10 percent to P8.9 billion.