Phinma forges ahead with expansion

Unfazed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Phinma group is proceeding with its expansion program in the education sector, aiming to be the country’s largest affordable education provider.

The group is currently in discussions to invest in more educational institutions, particularly in Metro Manila and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), Phinma Corp. president and chief executive officer Ramon del Rosario Jr. told stockholders during their annual meeting last week.

This is while continuing to explore investments in other Southeast Asian countries, he added.

“We do have a very handsome investible fund kitty and we are looking at expansion both in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia,” Del Rosario said.

To support its rapid business growth, the group entered last year into a partnership with Kaizenvest, Netherlands Development Finance Co., and Asian Development Bank involving the infusion of P1.875 billion in new capital into Phinma Education to support local and offshore acquisitions and expansions.

“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, these funds remain fully allocated to support acquisitions,” Del Rosario said.

Through Phinma Education Holdings Inc., the group has interest in seven tertiary education schools, the most recent of which was its acquisition of Republican College last year. Despite the challenges faced by the private tertiary industry, the group’s freshmen enrollment grew by 24 percent. As of school year 2019-2020, the group had a student population of 74,187 nationwide.

In 2019, Phinma Education’s various schools posted a 100 percent first-timers passing rate in 40 different licensure exams, Del Rosario reported. Since 2004, this unit has fielded 98 board exam topnotchers and 24,825 licensed professionals.

Elsewhere in the region, Phinma Education has likewise been growing its footprint.

In February 2019, Phinma Education entered into a joint venture with an Indonesian educational institution to establish PT Ind Phil Management to manage tertiary schools in Indonesia.

Apart from growing its business in Indonesia, where Phinma sees high potential for growth, Del Rosario said the group was looking at the education space in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

In Yangon, Myanmar, the group earlier set up Phinma Training Center in partnership with Victoria Hospital, one of the most technologically advanced hospitals in Myanmar’s biggest city. This venture star­ted offering short nursing and health-care programs for nursing assistants in 2017.

Phinma expects the rest of 2020 to be a significantly challenging year for the group, similar to most other businesses in the country and across the globe.

“We are hopeful, however, that our businesses can achieve modest growth in 2021, then eventually return to a more vigorous growth path,” Del Rosario said. INQ