Posted on January 27, 2015 11:20:00 PM
[ BusinessWorld Online ]
By Chrisee J. V. Dela Paz, Reporter
THE HEALTH CARE group of Metro Pacific
Investments Corp. (MPIC) plans to acquire a dozen of hospitals in the country
in the next four years to 2019, its chairman said yesterday.
On the sidelines of an event in Makati
City, MPIC Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters that the group will buy
12 more hospitals outside Metro Manila. MPIC now has stakes in eight of the
country’s biggest hospitals.
Asked what kind of investment
opportunities MPIC is seeking in the next four years, Mr. Pangilinan replied:
“Acquisition [of hospitals] within the country [of] around a dozen.”
“There’s concentration here in Metro
Manila, so we’re looking mostly for hospitals outside Metro Manila.”
The conglomerate has said in November
last year that the acquisition targets are most likely in North and Southern
Luzon, particularly in the provinces of Batangas and Cavite, as well as in
parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.
The MPIC Hospital Group has programmed
P2.3 billion in budget for the expansion of the following eight hospitals:
Central Luzon Doctors’ Hospital in Tarlac, De Los Santos Medical Center in
Quezon City, Makati Medical Center in Makati City, Davao Doctors Hospital and
Nursing College, Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, Riverside
Medical Center in Bacolod City, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Sta. Mesa,
Manila, and Asian Hospital in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
As of September last year, the eight
hospitals have 2,082 beds combined, and the group wants to bring that to 2,712
beds by the end of the year.
MPIC is a local unit of Hong
Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., which also owns Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund
subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld.
Yesterday, shares of MPIC ended
trading at P5.22 apiece, up by P0.03 or 0.58% from Monday’s closing price.
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