Phinma Education maps out global expansion

The education arm of listed diversified group Phinma Corp. led by businessman Ramon del Rosario Jr. is looking to open 10 to 20 more schools in the Philippines and in four other countries in the next several years.

Phinma Education president and chief executive officer Chito Salazar on Tuesday said that there were areas in the country that they were still looking to expand to, including Davao, Bacolod and the Bicol Region.

“Beyond that, another country we commit to expand to is Indonesia,” Salazar said.

The company already has two schools in Indonesia aside from the existing 10 in the Philippines.

“Maybe in the next three to four years, we’re looking very close to Vietnam and Cambodia,” he added.

Asked how much investment will be needed for this expansion, the Phinma Education executive said that it would be roughly P250 to P500 million pesos.

Outside of their expansion in the Southeast Asian region, Salazar said that Spain and Italy were also among the countries of interest for them in the long-term.

Aside from this, Salazar said they were also targeting to hit 1 million students in the next 12 to 15 years.

Criminology and nursing are the two most popular courses at Phinma schools in the Philippines, according to Salazar.

“The salary level is, it’s pretty good. So that will be the first reason. The second reason is because of who our market is, which is the low-income,” he said when asked why criminology is the top choice for their students.

Phinma education saw its net income rise by 31 percent to P1.4 billion during the fiscal year 2023 to 2024.

The value of its assets during the same period was also pegged at P16 billion, 14 percent higher than the comparable period in 2023