A Netherlands-based company was recently permitted by the Board of Investments (BOI) to increase ownership in one of the country’s leading pharmaceutical retailers.
The BOI gave the green light to Dutch firm Mulgrave Corp. B.V. to be the majority owner of Cebu-based Rose Pharmacy. From 49 percent, Mulgrave now owns 51 percent of the medicine retailer.
Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo Jr. said the firm is keen on spending additional capital placements and expand the reach of Rose Pharmacy, given the growing domestic demand for pharmaceuticals.
“This reflects the sustained confidence of foreign investors in the country’s economy,” Rodolfo said in a statement.
“The BOI is seeing increasing interest of foreign investors in the Philippines to access the expanding domestic market,” Rodolfo added. He cited the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data that indicated a surge in new foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows.
According to the BSP data, FDI inflows last October was at $2.02 billion—a threefold hike from $670 million year-on-year. Net equity placements paced the exponential FDI inflows with $1.53 billion last October, which is 25 times more than the $60 million recorded in the same period of 2016.
Rodolfo added the country’s strong showing last year was evident when FDI inflows were valued at $7.9 billion from January to October, which is 20.5 percent higher from $6.5 billion in the same period of 2016. It is also a few ticks away from erasing the record-high $7.93 billion posted in 2016.
Citing the BSP, the trade official said a sizable chunk of additional equity went to the power industry, although there are other sectors that got capital boost as well, such as manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade.
Mulgrave is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bermuda-based Dairy Farm International Holdings Inc.
Along with other DFIHL associates, they make up the Dairy Farm Group that operates supermarkets, hypermarkets, health and beauty stores, convenience stores, home furnishing shops and restaurants around Asia.
Dairy Farm carries the brands Wellcome, Giant, Cold Storage, Jason’s Marketplace and Maxim’s. It also operates 7-Eleven and Ikea stores in Asia.
Aside from Rose Pharmacy, Mulgrave has a substantial ownership in Wellcome, Rustan’s Supermakets and Shopwise. Rose Pharmacy currently has 252 branches nationwide.