iRemit eyes double-digit growth in transactions

MANILA, Philippines - iRemit Inc., the country’s largest Filipino-owned non-bank remittance firm, is eyeing a double-digit rise in total transaction value this year – exceeding the industry’s target growth of eight percent – as it continues to seize new markets and scale up its operations.

On the sidelines of the company’s annual stockholders meeting yesterday, iRemit chairman Bansan Choa said they are planning to build two additional branches in Italy to further beef up presence in Europe as it is also looking to penetrate Ireland and Switzerland.

Choa said the Tiu-owned company is hoping to take advantage of the large concentration of Filipinos living in Ireland and Switzerland estimated at 40,000 and 25,000-30,000, respectively.

Harris Jacildo, president and chief operating officer of iRemit, said the company expects to handle bigger remitttance transactions this year. Last year, total remittance volume rose 12 percent to 2.7 million valued at $1.104 billion or 1.1 percent higher than the previous year’s $1.083 billion.

In the first five months of the year, iRemit already reported a 12 percent spike in total transaction value to $486 million from only $434 million the previous level.

Choa said he believes that remittance inflows will continue to grow as the global economy enters a more stable recovery phase. He said sustained demand for Filipino manpower worldwide and greater access by workers and their beneficiaries to expanded money transfer facilities will sustain remittance growth.

“Moving forward, we are optimistic that the future would have better prospects in store. Now that the economy is moving into its recovery, we are more confident than ever of brighter days ahead. There is still room for us to grow,” Choa said, adding that Middle East and Europe appear promising.

The Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have major projects in construction, energy, tourism, petrochemicals, transportation and other heavy industries that would need more Filipino workers.

Europe, on the other hand, faces labor shortage due to rapidly aging population and declining workforces that will facilitate the entry of more high-skilled workers in the medium to long-term.

iRemit aggressively pursued the opening of new remittance corridors such as the Chinese remittances in Europe in strategic partnership with the Bank of China, one of the big four state-owned banks of the People’s Republic of China. It also signed a collaboration agreement with LTD/MFO Intel Express, a money transfer company licensed by the National Bank of Georgia.

In 2009, the company posted a net income of P133 million, up 2.3 percent from P130 million a year earlier.