PHINMA Corp. is advancing its expansion plans abroad particularly in the education sector, where it targets an enrollment of 100,000 students within the next three to four years.
“We continue to look for more schools to acquire and we continue to experience very robust growth in the schools that we’re in,” Phinma President Ramon R. del Rosario, Jr. told reporters after the company launched its 60th anniversary celebrations in Makati City last Wednesday.
The listed holding firm currently operates five schools: Phinma Araullo University, Phinma Cagayan De Oro College, Phinma University of Pangasinan, Phinma University of Iloilo and Southwestern University.
“It’s all over the past 10 to 12 years only that we’ve built up our portfolio of schools. And now we have five schools — four universities and one college — and our total enrollment is now about 54,000 students,” Mr. del Rosario said.
Phinma had targeted to have five schools when it ventured in the education sector, Chairman Oscar J. Hilado told reporters on the sidelines of the same event.
“We already have that — and I think we are going to go beyond that — but in terms of enrollment, we’re looking at 100,000 students,” Mr. Hilado said, underscoring the need to continue expanding its portfolio of schools.
“We will do that in the next three to four years,” Mr. del Rosario said. “We’re even exploring — as you may know, we’ve begun to expand outside of the Philippines.”
Phinma opened its first training center in Myanmar in August 2016, offering care-giving courses in partnership with Victoria Hospital, one of the largest private health care service providers in the Southeast Asian country.
“I think we have 40 or 60 students at the start but that’s just to get our feet wet, learn about the licensing process and just also learn the rope so we’re doing it slowly,” Mr. del Rosario noted.
Phinma is looking at developing the training center into a nursing college within the next three years and eventually establish a university offering other courses like accounting and engineering.
“We’re starting in Myanmar because we had a good fortune of having ourselves introduced to a group there that shares our vision,” Mr. del Rosario said. “They’re very strong in terms of real estate — they have a lot of real estate properties — so, maybe in Myanmar we will end up starting schools from scratch.”
Aside from Myanmar, the listed company is considering entering Vietnam although no serious efforts have been made at present.
“So, that’s going to be part of the expansion. But here in the Philippines, we continue to look for opportunities but there are many groups now looking for schools also so they’ve become more expensive but this is good for Philippine education,” Mr. del Rosario said.
“I think it’s good that Philippine business gets involved. At least responsible Philippine business getting involved in education, I think, is an excellent development because it makes available not only the resources but the expertise of the business community.”
Mr. Hilado cited the flagship K to 12 education program of the previous administration, which extended the country’s basic education curriculum from 10 to 12 years, among the drivers of Phinma’s education business in recent years.
“I think the K-12, while it was looked at as a serious challenge to universities, also opened up opportunities for rapid expansion. We established senior high schools in our universities,” the Phinma chairman said.
Phinma is expanding its hotel operations overseas alongside the education business. To date, it operates 18 properties under the brand Microtel across the Philippines and continues to scout for expansion opportunities in Palawan and Bohol, among others.
The company plans to bring Microtel into Myanmar through franchising and targets to break ground for its first hotel there within the next 12 months.
“In the discussions we’ve had, they will also put them in sites of economic zones where there are factories etcetera. Our Batangas property, our Cavite property — some of our properties that have quite done well are in those industrial zones, for business, for consultants, for locators, etcetera,” Mr. del Rosario noted.
Asked what makes Myanmar an attractive market for the company, Mr. del Rosario said: “They just have moved from pure dictatorship to a new democracy that is emerging. And we think that when there’s a new democracy and they open up the economy, there are opportunities that come up.”
“There are also a lot of poverty still and it is quite underdeveloped so we have the chance to be sort of a first mover. So, we think the opportunities are there but the challenges are also there,” Mr. del Rosario added.
In the first nine months of 2016, the listed company booked a 49%; year-on-year increase in consolidated net income to P428.7 million. The improvement reflects a 15% jump in revenues to P4.8 billion, as subsidiaries Union Galvasteel Corp. and Phinma Education Holdings, Inc. grew their income by 10% to P3 billion and by 18% to P1.5 billion. — Keith Richard D. Mariano
Phinma Corp. President Ramon R. del Rosario speaks during the company’s 60th year celebration at the Fairmont Hotel, Makati on Jan. 18. — BERNARD TESTA/INTERAKSYON.COM
