News
Phinma to hike investments in ’10
By Doris Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:51:00 04/21/2010
PHINMA-LED CONGLOMERATE Bacnotan Consolidated Industries Inc. is investing more in renewable power, education, property and other businesses this year as part of thrust for sustainable growth.
BCII, which will soon be renamed Phinma Corp., aims to become the biggest wind power developer in the country through Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corp. (Tarec), which now has a potential wind capacity of 350 megawatts through 20 service contracts awarded by the Department of Energy.
Tarec is a subsidiary of BCII’s 27-percent-owned energy affiliate Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp.
“We’re quite determined to become a major player in that area,” BCII president Ramon del Rosario Jr. told reporters after the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting late Tuesday.
The first 54 MW of Tarec’s wind farm in San Lorenzo, Guimaras, would likely start operating in 2012, he said, adding that the first 8 MW would be used to service the requirements of Guimaras, which at present was still importing electricity from Iloilo.
Funding for the wind project will constitute bulk of the group’s capital expenditures this year, although there was no fixed budget yet.
On education, the Phinma group is focusing on revitalizing recent acquisitions but would likely scout for its 5th school in the second half of this year, said Phinma Education Network president Chito Salazar. The group is also studying whether it could acquire a hospital independent of a nursing school.
“We are looking at Cebu, Davao, Batangas, Baguio, more in Mindanao,” Salazar said. “Learning from our last two acquisitions, we prefer the big schools [with a population of 10,000 to 15, 000].”
Education accounts for 40 percent or the biggest bulk of BCII’s investment portfolio as it now has a controlling stake in Araullo University, Cagayan de Oro College, University of Pangasinan and University of Iloilo. All tertiary educational institutions owned by BCII have tuition fees that range from P13,000 to P15,000 a semester.
“Collectively, these schools represent BCII’s biggest investment and confirm our commitment to improve the access of lower-income markets to quality education,” BCII chair Oscar Hilado said during the annual meeting.
Through Phinma Properties Holdings Corp., the group is also investing more in quality low-cost housing to be able to sell residential units starting at less than P1 million with amortization starting at P5,915 a month.
The property unit is investing in three new projects and has allotted P1.5-P2 billion for land acquisition and development this year, higher than the P800 million in capital outlay last year, according to Phinma Properties president Willie Uy.
Phinma Properties, which turns over residential units to buyers in nine to 11 months, recently completed walk-up condominium development Flora Vista in Quezon City.
BCII, which has total assets of about P9 billion, also has interests in steel products manufacturing (Union Galvasteel Corp.), business process outsourcing (Toon City) and financial services (AB Capital and Investment Corp.), which all also made money in 2009 like the education, housing and energy businesses.
Overall, BCII grew its net profit by about 64 percent last year to P447.37 million on the back of an 18-percent increase in group-wide revenues to P3.77 billion.
