Marcos does not own SM malls

Claim: SM malls were owned by the late president Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The post containing the claim came from the YouTube channel “Ai DHIN 28,” a channel with over 46,600 subscribers.

SM malls’ real owner: SM’s chain of malls is part of a multi-layered corporate structure all under the business conglomerate SM Investments Corporation (SMIC) owned by the Sy family. (Read: FAST FACTS: SM Investments Corporation).

An article published by SM Supermalls on January 25, 2018, said that billionaire businessman Henry Sy Sr. was the founder of the SM Group. The Sy Family’s Forbes profile said Henry Sy Sr. established the first shoe store of the SM mall chain and eventually built mall developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. He died in January 2019.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH), a subsidiary of SMIC, is the owner of SM Supermalls. SM Supermalls is the operator of 79 malls in the Philippines and eight malls in China.

According to SMIC’s website, SMPH is the property arm of SMIC and is the largest mall developer in the country. 

Jose T. Sio is the current chairman of the board of SMIC while Henry T. Sy Jr. is the current chairman of the board of SMPH. 

Sio was SMIC’s chief financial officer for almost three decades before he was appointed as SMIC’s chairman of the board. Henry T. Sy Jr. is the son of the Sy family patriarch.

Family business: The Sy family has managed and held key positions at SMIC since 1958. The following are the current members of SMIC’s board of directors:

• Jose T. Sio – chairman of the board
• Teresita T. Sy – vice chairperson of the board
• Henry T. Sy Jr. – vice chairperson of the board/non-executive director
• Harley T. Sy – executive director 
• Frederick C. DyBuncio – president and CEO
• Tomasa H. Lipana – lead independent director
• Alfredo E. Pascual – lead independent director
• Ramon M. Lopez – independent director
• Robert G. Vergara – independent director

– Lorenz Pasion/Rappler.com

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