Fullerton Healthcare Philippines secures US$40m from finance firm IFC

The investment is geared towards HMO Intellicare.

Fullerton Healthcare Philippines secured a US$40m long-term loan facility with World Bank group member International Finance Corporation (IFC), an announcement revealed.

The investment will be utilised to step up the provision of affordable, quality health care in the Philippines, and enhance efficiencies in the health maintenance organisation (“HMO”) market through increased integration between the financing and provision of healthcare.

The transaction came after Fullerton’s completion of a 60% stake acquisition in Intellicare Group, which marks its first foray into the Philippines back in May.

“High-quality affordable healthcare is critical to the long-term sustainable development of the Philippines,” IFC director for East Asia and the

Pacific Vivek Pathak said. “This project aligns with IFC’s development mandate and will help benefit the Philippines, a country with a wide gap in health insurance coverage,”

IFC’s loan will back the expansion of HMOs in the country, significantly increasing its outreach. The expanding network will further help Intellicare increase training opportunities for health professionals in the Philippines.

The financing firm will also support the sharing of best practices within different areas of operations, including facilitating introductions within IFC's network of health care clients.

“Growth of Intellicare and other companies in this segment will help reduce low and middle-income households’ reliance on out-of-pocket payments to fund healthcare expenses,” Pathak added.

The Intellicare group comprises three companies including Asalus Corporation, Avega Managed Care, and Aventus Medical Care.