SHOPPING MALL giant SM Prime Holdings, Inc. on Friday opened its 34th mall in Naga City, the first SM mall in the Bicol region and also the first new mall to be opened this year by the country’s richest man, Henry Sy.

This developed as SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), Sy’s holding company and the parent company of SM Prime, reported a double-digit growth in nationwide retail sales in the first quarter, suggesting that the domestic economy may more be resilient than most people expect.

The high-volume, low-margin food and nonfood retail merchandising business accounts for the lion’s share, or 85 percent, of SMIC’s estimated P115 billion in annual revenues. In terms of net earnings, it contributes 40 percent—still the biggest cash cow—followed by shopping malls (SM Prime) with a 36-percent income contribution.

The other core businesses are banking and commercial real estate which accounted for 16 percent and 8 percent of SMIC’s income in 2008, respectively.

 “The indication is that sales, [and] the overall consolidated revenues of SM Investments, that includes the four sectors, are in a growth pattern and posting double digit growth,” SMIC executive vice president and chief finance officer Jose Sio said in a recent press briefing.

With this robust performance, Sio said SMIC could hit its net profit target growth of 12-14 percent for this year.

The new mall in Naga City has a gross floor area of 64,870 square meters (sq. m.) and occupies 46,801 sq. m. of land. It has a leasable area of 31,398 sq. m., 94 percent of which has already been awarded to various tenants. The major tenants are SM Department Store and SM Supermarket, which will occupy 11,991 sq. m. and 6,413 sq. m. of floor space, respectively.

 “City may be considered as the nerve center of the Bicol region. It is home to large business establishments, universities, hotels and regional government offices. It is also a transportation hub with the Naga Transport Exchange servicing almost all of the region’s inter-municipality transportation. Its tourism industry is highlighted by the presence of the world-class CamSur Watersports Complex, one of the top tourist destinations in the country which played host to the 2008 World Wakeboarding Championship. These attributes make Naga City an ideal and suitable location for an SM mall,” SM Prime president Hans Sy said in a press statement.

While the group’s revenues are growing at low double-digit rates, its net earnings are growing at a “solid double-digit” pace, SM Hypermarkets executive vice president Robert Kwee on food retail operations said.