JTKC, the parent company of the Discovery Group, announced in a recent disclosure it divested nearly all its shares in remittance service provider I-Remit Inc.
Given its status as a minor shareholder with minimal ownership, JTKC also ceded all management and control of I-Remit to businessman Ben Tiu, thus fulfilling an agreement that the two parties signed last year.
Ben Tiu is currently I-Remit’s vice chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer. He has been a company director since 2001, and previously served as the firm’s chairman and chief executive officer from 2001 to 2004.
Discovery Group director Atty. Nonoy Tan said the move is aligned with the company’s overarching strategy of focusing on core businesses, building capacities and ensuring long term growth.
“Thankfully, we are already way beyond the pandemic-recovery period, and are currently on expansion mode. Through the Discovery Group, we are now making up for lost ground,” he said.
For Discovery, the priority is to establish an even larger footprint across the country, particularly outside Manila.
“We recently launched two very successful destination properties, namely the Discovery Samal Resort, as well as Manami Resort in Sipalay [Negros Occidental]. In a short time from now, we will soon launch Elize Point which many already consider Davao’s most exclusive subdivision, due in large part to its sweeping views of Davao Gulf and Mount Apo,” Tan said. “We are also very busy with our Kip+Kin project in El Nido, which is scheduled to open by the first quarter of 2025,” he said.