In 1956, businessmen Ramon V. del Rosario, Sr., Filemon C. Rodriguez, and Ernesto Escaler formed Philippine Investment Management (PHINMA), the first Filipino-managed investment firm.

Established in response to the government’s call to transform the Philippines into an industrialized nation, PHINMA operated businesses in several industries all over the country, eventually turning these into leading manufacturers and service providers.

Bacnotan Cement Corporation (BCC) under the brand name Union Cement, eventually became the foremost producer of cement in the Philippines, together with its subsidiary-sister plants. United Pulp and Paper Company (UPPC) for paper and packaging, later entered into a joint venture with Thailand's largest industrial conglomerate, the Siam Cement Group to create the biggest and most advanced paper manufacturing facility in the Philippines.

Other companies were Trans-Asia Oil and Mineral Company for marine exploration, coal mining, and energy generation, Bacnotan Consolidated Industries Incorporated for GI sheets manufacturing, and Union Galvasteel Corporation for galvanizing.

PHINMA entered the banking sector by launching Asian Savings Bank into a commercial banking institution. It created the PHINMA Property Holdings Corporation for construction, property management, and sanitation, now one of the biggest developers for affordable housing. A spin-off company, the PHINMA Group Development Foundation, built the Don Filemon C. Rodriguez Training Center in Tagaytay City, which today houses facilities for management and technical training.

PHINMA has always sought to focus on the Filipino people. Its oil refinery in Cavite, Filoil, started with the marketing strategy “Filipino First,” which inspired a nationalistic sense of consumerism among Filipinos. Its Community Relations division, COMREL, was created to reach out to the communities where PHINMA plants are located, and to coordinate with local government units in order to improve Filipino livelihood. COMREL is PHINMA’s example of good corporate citizenship and community building, which received the Corporate Citizenship Excellence Award from the Philippine Business for Social Progress in 1996.

In 2004, PHINMA sold its paper and cement manufacturing businesses and shifted into the service and education sectors, as it acquired Araullo University in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija.

This shift was brought into full fruition in 2006, when PHINMA celebrated its golden anniversary with the tagline, “Life can be better.” As it ushered in a new era, PHINMA’s mission then became focused on building the nation “through competitive and well-managed business enterprises that enable Filipinos to attain a better quality of life.”

Since then, each of PHINMA’s divisions – Property & Shelter, Education, Energy, Financial Services, Business Process Outsourcing, and Foundation, has sought to provide quality service at an affordable cost that every Filipino can avail of.

This is PHINMA’s business – making lives better.