SM City Tianjin open door

SM Prime Holdings says it has opened its giant new SM City Tianjin shopping centre.

But some property industry sources are expressing concerns that the second-tier Chinese city is already over-malled and wondering how the centre will fare.

“The Philippines biggest retail developer must be hoping that Christmas is catching on in Tianjin,” observed property industry website Mingtandi, described Tianjin as “famously oversupplied”.

The 565,000 sqm property is SM Prime’s seventh mall in China. More are on the drawing board as the Philippine company tries to expand its offshore interests.

“The opening of SM City Tianjin reflects our strong confidence on China’s economy,” said SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim in a statement announcing the soft opening.

“This gives SM Prime a wider perspective on China’s shopping culture, allowing us to capture bigger opportunities as an international integrated property developer.”

SM Prime has malls in Xiamen, Jinjiang, Chengdu, Suzhou, Chongqing and Zibo and 60 malls in the Philippines, boasting a combined gross floor area of 9.1 million sqm both in the two countries.