By Zinnia B. Dela Peña Updated February 02, 2009 12:00 AM [ philstar.com ]
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) is beefing up its healthcare service portfolio with plans to acquire two or three more hospitals in and outside Metro Manila this year.
MPIC chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan refused to name the hospitals they were planning to purchase but said the takeover targets have a total of 600 to 900 beds.
These planned acquisitions are in line with the group’s vision of establishing the first nationwide chain of premium high quality hospitals in the country.
MPIC is targeting to build up to 5,000 beds over the next three to five years.
It is on the lookout for properties or existing hospitals in Northern, Central and Southern Luzon and in the cities of Cebu, Iloilo, Cagayan De Oro, Bacolod, Zamboanga and General Santos.
The company earlier disclosed it was in talks to acquire government-owned Cebu City Medical Center but no definitive agreement has been signed nor completed.
MPIC believes that Cebu offers a perfect site to take advantage of the increasing market of medical tourists worldwide seeking a health-friendly environment.
MPIC has been on acquisition mode since it acquired a majority stake in Makati Medical Center. In May 2008, it bought 34 percent of Davao Doctors Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in Mindanao.
Davao Doctors has 250 beds and is considered the best medical facility in Mindanao. It owns Davao Doctors College Inc., which is touted as a leading center of academic excellence among higher educational institutions in Davao.
In August, MPIC assumed the management and operation of the Cardinal Santos Medical Center, a 212-bed tertiary hospital located in a three-hectare property along Wilson St., San Juan City, on behalf of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila (RCAM) for an interim period of six months.
The interim period is meant to prepare the basis for selection of a long-term operator for the hospital by RCAM.
Aside from healthcare, MPIC has investments in core businesses such as water, tollways, and eventually, ports and harbors.
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