Leading Growth Forward
Amando M. Tetangco, Jr., Chairman of the Board
How do you see the Philippine market and its growth potential for SM?
The Philippine economy remains fundamentally sound as it adjusts to external and cyclical headwinds. In 2025, GDP growth moderated to 4.4%, reflecting slower investment and public spending but still ranking among the higher growth rates globally. Inflation averaged a benign 1.7%, anchoring price stability and enabling supportive monetary policy. Labor market conditions also remain constructive, with the unemployment rate around 4.2% in 2025, consistent with a historically stable employment backdrop. Supported by robust remittances, strong foreign exchange reserves and a stable banking sector, these fundamentals give us confidence to continue investing for sustainable long-term growth.
We have strong confidence in the behavior of Filipino consumers. Spending on essentials remains robust and discretionary spending is broad-based. Both businesses and individual consumers have increased their confidence to borrow and invest as interest rates have come down. In property, we continue to see major long-term opportunities in expanding malls and in provincial and upscale residences and large-scale urban developments.
Filipinos’ consumption continues to be a dependable engine of economic growth, providing a solid foundation for SM. In each of our core businesses in retail, banking and property we see significant under-penetration across the Philippines, presenting enormous opportunities for development and long-term growth.
How do you see the Philippine market and its growth potential for SM?
When SM’s parent company went public in 2005, we had 19 malls, 361 bank branches and 55 retail stores. We had assets of PHP169.1 billion and our market capitalization was PHP127.2 billion.
Two decades later, we have 89 malls, 2,545 bank branches and 4,831 retail stores, with assets exceeding PHP1.8 trillion and a market capitalization of close to PHP854.9 billion.
What has powered this growth is ambitious business expansion built on a deep relationship with Filipino consumers and communities. As cities grew and new markets emerged, SM invested alongside them, offering opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship, accessibility and community-building. This journey reflects the vision of our founder, Henry Sy, Sr. and still guides us today.
How does the Board interact with management and shareholders?
The Board ensures that SM operates with fairness, transparency, accountability and equitable treatment of all stakeholders.
The majority of the Board is composed of Independent Directors who are all respected leaders in business and previously in Government and who bring their considerable experiences and judgement to ensure independent thinking and oversight within the Group. They collaborate closely with Management to guide strategy, while remaining independent to ensure balanced decisions that uphold stakeholder trust. This makes us a stronger company, with an independent Board working in conjunction with a highly entrepreneurial Management team.
We also ensure that there are clear channels for shareholder engagement, encouraging Management to have high disclosure levels and regular open dialogues with our investors. We listen to their feedback and concerns and this informs Board discussions.
In all things we try to ensure that SM follows the highest standards of governance and this is recognized in the accolades we receive from international governance bodies including our second 5 Golden Arrows (highest award possible for exemplary corporate governance by the Institute of Corporate Directors, our citation among the Top 5 Philippine publicly listed companies (PLs) and Top 50 ASEAN PLCs by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Capital Market Forum (ACMF) as well as other awards from foreign publications such as Alpha Southeast Asia and Corporate Governance Asia.
What is your message to stakeholders about SM going forward?
SM has been part of the Filipino growth story for almost seven decades and 20 years as a publicly listed company. As we look ahead, what gives us confidence is the strength of our customers who remain resilient, employees who continue to serve with dedication and partners and communities who grow alongside us.
As we do so, we take our role in the Philippines, our commitments to being responsible and our aim to meet the highest standards of global governance seriously
I’d like to express my heartfelt thanks to our Board and Management, employees, private and public sector partners for their unwavering support this last year.
We enter the next chapter fully aware of both global geopolitical uncertainties and the potential domestic challenges we must address. With our clear business focus, financial strength and strong competitive advantages we are confident we can continue to grow and outperform over the long term.
Thank you all for the continued support.