M. Lhuillier to set up 100 more branches

Amid increasing competition, the M.Lhuillier Group of Companies said it planned to open 100 branches this year in the country and abroad.

In an interview last week, family matriarch Amparito Lhuillier said expansion is critical in maintaining their strong presence as a financial service provider to Filipinos all over the world.

“The goal is to set up at least one outlet in every island in the Philippines or roughly at least 7,000 branches all over the country, aside from our expansions abroad,” Lhuillier said.

1,600 outlets

At present, she said the group has close to 1,600 outlets worldwide including M.L Kwarta Padala outlets in the US, Dubai and in some parts of Asia. Lhuillier said they want to ensure their share of the growing domestic and overseas markets.

“Abroad, we want to be everywhere especially in countries where there is high concentration of Filipinos or OFWs. Money transfer is becoming one of the most profitable products we have,” she said.

At present, M.Lhuillier through its “Kwarta Padala” service has 85 to 95 international partners consisting of banks or individual remitters.

Based on figures from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, OFW remittances amounted to $1.92 billion last year or 7.6 percent increase from only $1.78 billion in the same period in 2011.