PHINMA Education expansion gets P1.87-billion boost

MANILA – PHINMA Education Holdings Inc on Wednesday said it raised some P1.87 billion from its partnership with private equity firm Kaizenvest, Dutch lender FMO and the Asian Development Bank to fund its expansion plans. 

The funds will be used to grow its network in the Philippines and to expand in Indonesia and Myanmar, said PHINMA Education Holdings Inc president and CEO Chito Salazar.

With the expansion, PHINMA Education expects 15 percent growth in enrollments by June 2021 while net income is expected to grow by 10 to 12 percent next year, he said.

"We continue to expand, we continue to grow driven primarily by the need to make lives better, especially of those who have no other opportunities, with the opportunity we provide because its affordable," Salazar said.

PHINMA Education acquired a school in Cubao last December and is in talks to acquire 2 more in Laguna in the next 3 months, Salazar said. 

Its network of 7 schools and 10 campuses currently has 74,000 students, it said. 

PHINMA Corp’s education unit works with foundations in Indonesia, their “most exciting venture” yet, Salazar said.

It currently manages a school outside west Jakarta and is in talks to partner with another institution in Surabaya. The goal is to grow its Indonesian enrollees to between 100,000 to 150,000 in 10 to 12 years, he said. 

PHINMA Education also plans to expand to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia where there are “huge underserved markets,” Salazar said.

Davao and other provinces in the country are also “target areas” locally, he said. 

The school network has an 81 percent average first-time passing rate for licensure exams with some 81 percent of students getting hired a year after graduation. It has 93 board exam top notchers since its inception in 2004.

PHINMA Education currently operates educational institutions in the cities of Cagayan De oro, Dagupan, Cabanatuan, Iloilo, Cebu and Quezon City, among others.