The Philippines' leading mall developer, SM Prime Holdings, has announced plans for the construction of its biggest mall ever - it will be built in China.

SM Prime president Hans Sy told shareholders the proposed mall will be located in Tianjin, which is about half an hour by high-speed train from Beijing, and will have a gross floor area of 530,000 square meters.

The proposed Tianjin mall, targeted to open in 2013, will be around 24 percent bigger than SM North Edsa, currently the biggest mall in the Philippines and third in the world in terms of floor area.

In announcing the Tianjin project, Mr Sy said "a bigger and bolder SM Prime has since emerged [from a 25-year experience], ready to take on the vast opportunities that will come from a robust and still growing Asian economy."

SM Tianjin, according to Mr Sy, will feature three oval-shaped arch buildings, with an overall shape that will look like a blossoming flower.

"It will be a grand showcase of how SM Prime has transformed into a first rate mall owner and developer not just in the Philippines but also in select cities of China," he said.

Since entering the Chinese market in December 2001, SM has set up shopping centers in Xiamen, Jinjiang, Chengdu, Suzhou, Chongqing, and Xinxiang cities.

Last month SM Prime also announced it was looking into the possibility of spinning off its businesses in China for a possible listing to raise funds for further expansion in that booming market.

SM Prime is part of SM Group that now owns in the Philippines 40 shopping centers with a combined floor area of 4.5 million square meters, three of which are among the world's biggest.