San Miguel Corp. (SMC) hopes to finalize the sale of its overseas beer business to San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB) before the year ends, its president Ramon Ang said Wednesday.

The deal is in line with the parent's plan to consolidate all its beer operations under SMB, which it partially sold to long-time partner Kirin Holdings of Japan.

SMC earlier entered into a share purchase agreement with Kirin for the latter's purchase of a 43.25 percent stake in SMB.

With the additional acquisition of shares via a tender offer, Kirin has brought its ownership in SMB to 48.25 percent. SMC keeps the controlling stake of 51 percent in the locally listed beer unit.

According to Ang, SMC is eyeing to raise $600 to $700 million from the sale of its overseas beer venture to bankroll its planned acquisitions in other industries and pay down debts.

In another development, SMC's real estate arm San Miguel Properties Inc. (SMPI) is readying the construction of a P3-billion, high-rise service apartment project in Makati City.

Alan Cruz, head for real estate development, said the 30-storey development will break ground in the fourth quarter of this year and is targeted for occupancy after three years.

The project is a joint venture with state-owned pension fund Government Service and Insurance System.

Cruz said SMPI will be expecting recurring income from the project since it will be offered to clients for lease. The building will have 424 studio, one- and two-bedroom units.

SMPI will also eyeing to build a residential condominium project on its 30-hectare property in Boracay Island.

Moving forward, Ang said they remain cautious, but optimistic about SMPI's prospects amid the economic crisis.

"We are cautious about our prospects for growth. We are prepared for the worst even as we continuously look for ways to make our products more attractive to our customers and maximize shareholder value," he said.