SHOEMART INC., the privately owned department store operator of mall magnate Henry Sy, boosted its cash assets after raising P800 million from the sale of shares in its sister firm, China Banking Corp., sources familiar with the deal said.

Sources added the funds will be channeled into general investments and expansion projects.

The SM Group is adding at least four new department stores this year, including one in the Mall of Asia in Pasay City and another in Clark, Pampanga, sources said.

Privately held firms of the Sy family and the Dee family of Chinabank sold a total of 6.9 percent in the bank for .5 million (P2.8 billion) to international institutional investors. The secondary placement increased Chinabank’s public float to 30 percent.

The selling shareholders were members of the SM Group such as Shoemart Inc., Sysmart Corp. and other stockholders of the Dee family. With the sale, the SM Group has trimmed its stake to 40 percent from 46 percent.

Separately, another Shoemart sister firm, SM Prime Holdings Inc., is expanding its mall network as it is set to open in July a new mall at Frontera Verde at the Tiendesitas commercial complex in Pasig City.

Two additional malls will open this year including one in Lipa City in Batangas province by September and another in Bacolod before the end of the year, SM Prime president Hans Sy said.

The three malls will expand SM Prime’s total malls to 28. These malls form part of SM Prime’s P7-billion capital spending this year.

Last month, SM Prime opened its P6.5 billion ‘Mall of Asia,’ its biggest and most ambitious project in the country to date.

The 400,000-square-meter mall is Sy’s 25th mall, with over 600 local and international brands and over 150 indoor and al fresco dining outlets.