Philippine-based, family-owned conglomerate SM Investments Corporation (SMIC) has established a wholly-owned subsidiary in Singapore as it prepares to invest in overseas companies.

The new entity, SMIC SG Holdings, established in accordance with Singaporean laws, was revealed in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange. SMIC corporate secretary Elmer Serrano says the subsidiary “was incorporated as an investment holding company for potential minority stakes in foreign companies”.

While the disclosure did not provide any additional details on what type of investments the Singaporean subsidiary will invest in, SMIC in its annual report last month noted that the company grew 27% in the first quarter of 2022, largely on the back of its BDO Unibank business.

In addition to potential investments overseas via the Singaporean subsidiary, SMIC president and CEO Frederic C. DyBuncio said last month that the company was constantly looking to invest in high-growth areas in the Philippines.

Banking, according to SMIC, accounted for 49% of its consolidated net income, followed by property at 29% and retail at 16%, while portfolio investments contributed 6%. 

The majority of the conglomerate’s growth came from its portfolio investments, led by Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation, which reported a 191% net income increase to 1.22 billion pesos (US$22.56 million) for the first quarter of 2022 over the same period last year, boosted by higher production and metal prices.

The company, whose total assets, as of May 2022, stand at 1.4 trillion pesos, recently acquired the Philippine Geothermal Production Company. The acquisition, DyBuncio states, “is in line with SMIC’s strong commitment to sustainability and the promotion of renewable energy in the country”.