SM Prime allots P3.6B for SMX Cebu as MICE market expands

SM PRIME HOLDINGS, INC. is investing P3.6 billion to build a convention center in Cebu, betting on rising demand in the province’s MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) sector, it said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.

The six-storey SMX Convention Center Seaside Cebu will offer 21,000 square meters of leasable space and seating capacity for 18,000 attendees.

It is scheduled to open in late 2026 and will rise within South Coast City, the company’s 26-hectare master-planned estate in Cebu that is being positioned as a major business and lifestyle hub in the Visayas.

The addition of the Cebu venue will expand SMX’s portfolio to 80,000 square meters of event-leasable area across the Philippines.

SM operates eight convention centers nationwide — SMX Manila in Pasay, SMX Aura in Taguig, SMX Clark, SMX Davao, SMX Bacolod, SMX Olongapo, Skyhall Seaside Cebu and Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong.

It also seeks to complete construction of SMX Center for International Trade and Exhibitions (SMXCITE) trade hall in Pasay City by 2027.

“After recent events, we hope SMX Seaside Cebu will play a meaningful role in revitalizing the province’s tourism and business landscape,” SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. Executive Vice-President Peggy Angeles said in a statement.

Cebu’s economy expanded 7.3% in 2024, outpacing the national growth rate of 5.7%, according to the local statistics agency. But the tourism industry suffered setbacks from recent earthquakes and typhoons.

SM Prime said the convention center would comply with updated building codes and seismic safety standards, and would be equipped with emergency exits, assembly areas and communication systems.

The company will also conduct regular structural inspections, evacuation drills and staff preparedness training.

Several trade events have already committed to the venue ahead of completion, including Philconstruct Cebu in 2026 and Wofex Visayas in 2027.

SM Prime posted an 8% increase in third-quarter net income to P12.8 billion, driven partly by a 9% rise in hotel and convention center revenues to P6 billion.

SM Prime stocks closed 35 centavos higher at P22.80 on the local bourse. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz