iRemit completes purchase of Taiwan firm

MANILA, Philippines – iRemit Corp., the leading non-bank remittance firm in the country, has completed the purchase of 49 percent of Taiwan-based remittance firm Hwa Kung Hong Co. Ltd. (HKHC) for 2.45 million Taiwanese dollars (about P3.6 million).

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, iRemit said it used internally-generated cash to fund its newly-acquired business., which has branches in Taipei and Kaohsiung.

HKHC is the remittance partner of IRemit in Taiwan.

iIRemit inked recently an agreement with the Al-Alamiah Group Co. in Syria that will allow the two companies to offer remittance services to Filipino workers there. Statistics from the Philippine Embassy show there are around 17,000 OFWs in Syria.

Headquartered in Damascus City, the Al-Alamiah Group is engaged in a diversified line of businesses that includes money remittance and foreign exchange trading.

In spite of the global financial crunch, iRemit remains bullish on the prospects of the remittance business, setting aside P100 million to P150 million for its expansion this year.

iRemit is looking to expand in Italy, Greece, Germany, Macau and Ireland this year to boost revenues.

Last year, iRemit handled $1.1 billion worth of remittances, up 42 percent from the previous year and exceeding the industry’s 37-percent growth. It expanded its operations in the Pacific region last year, opening new branches in New Zealand, Perth and Liverpool in Australia.

The company is also securing a license to operate in Italy and Macau to further enlarge its customer base. — Zinnia Dela Peña