Filipino-Owned Businesses (Locally and Abroad)

[kc5169]

There is a BPI branch in Los angeles and New York City. LBC is in the US also as my wifes friend is working there in san francisco. Dried cebu mangoes are in costco. My best friends in fresno buy these allthe time and they are the same that you buy in mercury drug only in the 500g bags. Jollibee is in california although it is quite a failure cause jollibee in comparison to mcdonalds and the such is considered much lower quality so noone goes. In San Diego, there is a jollibee that no matter when i went by it there was no more than 2 cars in the drive thru and the building was very small. PLDT does not have operations in the US as well as any other philippine telco company. They are not in the US. Only pldt is on the New York Stock Exchange though. I have not seen bench or penshoppe or any other philippine clothing company in the US in california, but that doesn't mean its not there. I did hear that there is a goldilocks in las vegas and Los angeles.

[bariQ]

there is a goldilocks here in Concord, Ca, malaki siya in fairness

[dattebayo]

PNB and RCBC

[Maxxclip]

diba may red ribbon sa US?

[kevinb]

'Yun ding ni-purchase ng Jollibee na giant fast food chain din sa China.

[Nabartek]

Chwoking nalang kasi ipromote nila instead of Jolibee. Masmasarap pa!

Puwedeng pumatok at maging world-renowned ang halo-halo natin. Dito sa amin, marami-raming Koreano ang nagChochowking.

[Waldenstrom]

I think they should do something with the variety of their foods.

[bariQ]

masarap din naman ang greenwich pero talo sila sa papa johns :P

[dattebayo]

Originally Posted by Maxxclip

diba may red ribbon sa US?

yup, pero mas masarap ang gawa sa Pinas. yung ube cake sa US parang dry.

[amigo32]

baka fake ang ube ginamit. coloring lang?

[kiretoce]

Major Filipino brand ignites local competition
Goldilocks empire poses a new threat to independent merchants at Main Street and 12th

The area around St. Patrick's Catholic Parish on Main Street at 12th Avenue is home to a smattering of independent businesses that cater to Vancouver's growing Filipino community.

The church's congregation is predominantly Filipino, with some estimates as high as 90 per cent; and these bakeries, restaurants and grocery stores -- most just a hop and a skip from the church -- are at their busiest after weekend mass services. Basically, the line-ups start when church ends.

Many observers wouldn't have noticed it, but a few weeks ago, a well-known brand name from the Philippines opened its doors in a compact but prime location here, smack against the church's north wall.

The arrival of Goldilocks, a bakery and restaurant chain with some 300 locations in the Philippines and a storied history going back to the mid-1960s, is, for some, akin to Starbucks landing on Commercial Drive's mom-and-pop cappuccino strip a few years ago.

On a recent weekday, Julie Soriano and Norma Surilla nod at this comparison over a morning coffee at this new Goldilocks. The women -- both long-time Vancouver residents who grew up in the Philippines -- say sitting here reminds them of home.

"It's famous in our place. Once Filipinos see the brand -- it's very popular -- they feel like they are in their own country. Even if you are rich or you are a star, [Goldilocks] is the first place you go to," said Surilla.

Across the street and down a block, business at Aling Mary's Filipino Store, a bakery and grocery outlet, hasn't yet seen any impact, good or bad, from Goldilocks, according to manager Raelynne Reyes, but she acknowledges in a phone interview that "they are a huge chain and we are just an independent local company."

Goldilocks was started in 1966 when two sisters from a Chinese-Filipino family in Manila, Milagros Leelin Yee and Clarita Leelin Go, decided to go into business. In particular, they were known for making fancy cakes for special occasions such as baptisms, birthdays, graduations and weddings.

Today, more than 3,500 employees work for the Goldilocks' empire. It spans 300 locations across the Philippines, almost 20 in the U.S., and, now, two in Vancouver.

All of the North American branches are company-owned and run by family members, who migrated from the Philippines in the mid-1970s. About half of the locations in the Philippines are franchises.

In a service that has helped further endear it to Filipino expatriates wanting to stay in touch with farflung friends and relatives, the company ships its trademark tarts, cookies, brioches, and rolls across North America in small quantity, door-to-door, care package-like deliveries.

For example, you can send a young coconut pie to someone in Nunavut (customers have done this) or a sampler bag of pan de sal dinner rolls and shortbread-like polvoron to Yellowknife (again, it's been done.)

You can even help cater someone's birthday celebration in the Philippines by arranging for plates of Goldilocks' party food -- everything from baked macaroni to barbecued meat trays -- to arrive on their doorstep, much like you might use a florist. The delivery charge for Metro Manila is just $8, while more provincial destinations cost $15.

In the U.S., large factories and processing plants in northern and southern California serve the company's branches, plus wholesale clients such as Costco Warehouse and the Marriott hotel chain.

In Vancouver, it is comparatively a much smaller operation. Since 1984, the company has had a retail presence on West Broadway at Fir, just off the Burrard bridge. It ships product to a few Asian food chains, making everything at the 5,000-square-foot [465-square-metre] Broadway location.

The company's original founders and most of their children now manage growing operations in California and Nevada, or have returned to do the same in the Philippines, but one of the daughters, 39 year-old Maj Yee, has remained in Vancouver and currently oversees the Canadian business.

Yee doesn't take credit for the Main Street location next to St. Patrick's Church, which is also home to an elementary and high school. She had been targeting expansion in Surrey or Richmond when property developers approached her with the idea.

She hopes that igniting competition among Filipino merchants here will only widen the pie for everyone. "It's good because it also allows us to broaden the reach of Filipino food," said Yee

[bartman]

Originally Posted by kiretoce

Dried mangoes are allowed into the US. Fresh mangoes from the Philippines aren't, but "Manila Mangoes" from Mexico are.

Originally Posted by kiretoce

It's a variety of the mangoes grown in the Philippines, hence they just tagged the name "Manila" to it. Our fresh mangoes aren't allowed in the US since they have to pass FDA regulations fit for import into the country.

mangoes from the philippines (specifically from guimaras) have been allowed exportation to the US for a few years. i believe mangoes from other regions are now allowed as well except palawan. look it up.

[c0kelitr0]

Originally Posted by kiretoce

It's a variety of the mangoes grown in the Philippines, hence they just tagged the name "Manila" to it. Our fresh mangoes aren't allowed in the US since they have to pass FDA regulations fit for import into the country.

Aren't mangoes from Guimaras available in the US anymore? They were branded as Philippine Super Mangoes.

[-TC-]

ANDREW L. TAN

http://business.inquirer.net/money/t...hy-billionaire

RP’s shy billionaire
Radio factory worker’s son rises to the top
By Margie Quimpo-Espino
Philippine Daily Inquirer
04/12/2008

MANILA, Philippines—He is one of the Philippines’ richest men (4th in the Forbes 2007 list of The Philippines’ 40 Richest estimated wealth at $1.1 billion) yet he is probably the most low-profile.

Little is known about Andrew L. Tan yet children of all ages know one of his businesses only too well: his Alliance Global Group Inc. owns 49 percent of Golden Arches Dev’t. Corp., franchise holder of the McDonald’s hamburger chain.

His real estate group under Megaworld owns over 200 buildings (defined as four stories and above).

Born of humble beginnings, he was the son of a transistor radio factory worker who came to Manila from China at age 16. Tan has a brilliant mind—graduated magna cum laude with degree in Business Administration from the University of the East. This despite the fact that he used to walk from Sta. Cruz in Manila to the UE campus because he had no money. People who work with him attest to his brilliance but at the same time describe him as extremely shy.

He owns Emperador Distillers Inc., makers of Emperador brandy, the world’s largest selling brandy by volume. But his first brand was Andy Player Special which is not being exported.

Tan agreed to answer several questions from the Inquirer and share old photos that have not been published:

Q: What were your beginnings? How did you start? What was your first entrepreneurial venture?

A: I was about 25, and a bachelor, when I first went into business. I was a partner in a wholesale trading firm that imported appliances in bulk and sold them to appliance stores.

Q: How were you raised? Were your parents entrepreneurs? Who was and is the most influential person in your life?

A: My father worked in a transistor radio factory; my mother was a plain housewife. I have one brother. One influential person in my life was my mother. As a young businessman, I would consult her before I made any important decisions. We discussed not just business matters, but also anything under the sun. She and her guidance meant a lot to me.

When I married, my wife Katherine became the most influential person in my life. Today, we talk about business almost every day, especially when I have to make important decisions.

In college, many of my classmates were better off than I. They had family businesses of their own. Some owned a grocery shop; others a hardware store. Those in Quiapo ran a small textile business. I was sort of envious of their fortune, so I dreamed of becoming a businessman.

I often told my mother that I if had P200,000 in savings, I’d open a grocery store, and that would surely change our fortune. She encouraged me a lot then.

When I started working, I discovered that you learn something from the people you meet. For me, that’s always a blessing, more so if you meet the right people who can help you succeed.

Some people may disagree, but I believe that for a person to become very wealthy, 40 percent is due to luck and 60 percent to a combination of intelligence and hard work. You just have to be at the right place at the right time. If you are lucky, timing will always be in your favor; otherwise, timing will always be off. There’s a Chinese saying that big success depends on the heavens. For me, good luck accounts for 40 percent of all my success.

Q: What were some of the difficult times in your entrepreneurial life? How did you overcome the difficulties?

A: Business was very tough when I started. When you don’t have much capital, it is imperative that you have a very good nose. You are like a dog that must always sniff around for food. You cannot afford to fail. That is how you develop an instinct for success.

This does not mean, however, that I always succeeded in my initial ventures. I failed in some of them. I made wrong decisions, too, but I learned from my mistakes to become better and better. After all, mistakes are always a part of doing business. Some people, however, give up especially after a disastrous failure.

Thankfully, I never gave up. I always pushed on, no matter what. I tried and tried again even if the business was in bad shape. You just pick up the pieces, and then get on your feet again.

Usually, people are fond of asking businessmen this question: When did you make your first million? How did this accomplishment make you feel at that time?

I was lucky to have made my first million at 27. A million then was worth much, much more than it is now. A new car cost about P40,000 then compared with P800,000 or P900,000 today. As such, P1 million then was equivalent to about P20 million now. Definitely a lot of money! When I told my mom about my accomplishment, I believe I made her very, very happy.

Q: I’ve heard good things about your children, how did you raise them despite the wealth that surrounded them? Are they all involved in business? Were they exposed to other companies?

A: Since I’m in business, I naturally want my children to follow in my footsteps. I sincerely wish they would become successful businessmen on their own—or a businesswoman in the case of my youngest child.

You can say that my children were born with silver spoons in their mouths. That is an advantage, I agree, but it could also be a disadvantage. When the going gets tough, people of inherited wealth, who are brought up without any experience of hardships and difficulties, may be wanting in resilience. It may be harder for them to get over a failure. In my case, I’ve had more than my share of life’s challenges. Just like before, if I fail miserably, I will get up and try to recover.

Another thing about being born in fortunate circumstances is that it may not give you that much hunger for success—like a dog that doesn’t need to sniff around that much for food since it’s always available. That is why aside from a good education, I give my children nuggets of wisdom from the school of hard knocks. I find time to chat and share with them my experiences. If they listen to me and remember what I tell them, if they take me seriously, that will save them a lot of trouble in the future. As a father, I believe that talking to my children and having open, honest dialogues with them is most important.

I always believe that if you want to excel at something, you must be genuinely interested in what you’re doing. You must have a passion for it. Otherwise, success will elude you. As a father, I believe my job is to make my children interested in the business. If they’re passionate about it, they will put in the hard work without feeling stressed out.

I must point out that ours are publicly listed companies, and all are professionally managed. We owe it to our stockholders to run our companies well. We’re a big operation, with thousands of stockholders to answer to. I always keep in mind that we’re not running a family business anymore, and I don’t force my children to work for me. Having said that, one of my children is a middle manager; another a junior manager. They report to their senior managers, not to me.

Q: What is your vision for Megaworld and how near are you in achieving that?

A: Today, I’m as passionate as ever about real estate in general and Megaworld in particular. I’m a very hands-on businessman, and I devote a lot of my time running the company’s day-to-day operations. Real estate is the industry that’s closest to my heart. It’s like the lifeblood that runs in my veins. I wake up every morning with a feeling of excitement, knowing that I will be building more homes and helping more Filipinos realize their dream of owning a home.

Our goal is to give Filipinos a good home and do our best to make it affordable by offering good value for money, whether in the mid-income level or in the Triple A level, as in the case of our ultra-luxurious One Central project in Makati.

Q: I understand you have already been paying back society for your blessings, what are some of the good things you have been doing?

A: When you talk about giving back to society, the Megaworld Foundation, over the years, has given hundreds of scholarship grants and contributed to many worthy causes, from helping fight cancer to empowering the blind to supporting the La Mesa watershed conservation campaign. Considering the good fortune that has come my way as a businessman, I honestly feel that I want to do more.

Over the next few years, I will try to devote more of my time for philanthropic activities. Currently, I find that corporate-giving still runs along traditional lines. Many foundations and companies are doing virtually the same thing. One of the things we’ll look into is how we can apply business skills and strategies in the area of philanthropy, and how we can help people, programs and causes in a more cost-efficient manner. I’m aware that it’s impossible for any one foundation to do everything and help everyone, so I intend to look for a formula to help us focus our efforts on one particular area that will give the most benefits to the greatest number of people—in effect, achieve much more for our less fortunate countrymen.

Q: What to you are the secrets of your success?

A: What are my secrets as a businessman? Well, I think one of my accomplishments is the ability to feel the pulse of the market, and of people in general. If you want to succeed in business, you must have developed this knack for knowing and understanding the market and your customers, in order that you can provide the products and services that people will buy again and again.

And it is not enough to know your market and your customers. You must also gain the same mastery and understanding of your employees, suppliers, partners, associates, even your banker and underwriter. If you have a good nose, a good sixth sense, you will be able to fit all of them into your grand plan of success.

Q: What are your passions and hobbies?

A: I’m a businessman, and my most intense passion is creating wealth, creating jobs and creating value for our stockholders.

I also swim when I have the chance; I go to the gym and run the treadmill given the opportunity.

These are the activities that I do at my own time and at my own pace.

Q: What to you would be the key to achieving a progressive Philippines?

A: Ten years ago, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry was unheard of here in the country. But we at Megaworld saw an opportunity: we established Eastwood City CyberPark as the country’s first IT park. We worked with the government, the private sector and would-be locators. We all worked together to promote the BPO business in the country.

From a very negligible number of employees then, the BPO industry as a whole today employs more than 300,000 people and generates about $5 billion in annual export revenues, based on the latest available data. These figures are projected to go up to 1 million employees and $12 billion in revenues by 2010.

I have observed that we Filipinos have two distinct advantages: our excellent English language skills and the friendly tone of our voice. I thought this was one area where we could excel in.

True enough, foreign customers like speaking to our call center agents. We Filipinos have a naturally pleasant voice, so Americans tend to spend more time talking on the phone. Even if they’re calling from thousands of miles away, they can somehow feel the friendliness, dedication and patience of our agents.

Now, if these foreigners could visit here and get to see our people and talk to us face to face, imagine how much more they’d enjoy the experience.

In the same way that these advantages have worked wonders for the BPO industry, I believe that we should invest in business areas that can utilize our people’s inherent strengths. A perfect example is tourism. Aside from our exemplary language skills and natural friendliness, we as a people are known for our hospitality. And need I say that we have a wealth of picturesque landscapes and scenic spots found nowhere else on earth? Not only that, our country is blessed with a gentle tropical weather all year round—an invitation for foreigners who want to escape the harsh winter in their own countries to flock to our shores.

Over the next 10 years, my holding company, Alliance Global Group Inc., is looking to venture into tourism in a big way. I’m not talking about putting up one or two stand-alone hotels alone; we’re planning to build tourism estates on a large scale and with highly attractive products that will trigger a surge of tourist arrivals from all over the world.

Q: What else do you want to achieve in life?

A: As a businessman with a strong passion for real estate, I hope and pray that we can help our country take a successful quantum leap in the next big business frontier for the country: tourism.

[-TC-]

http://www.forbes.com/2007/10/18/phi...filipinos.html

The Philippines 40 Richest (2007)
Justin Doebele
10.18.07, 6:00 PM ET

The Philippines is making a comeback. Second-quarter growth of 7.5% was the highest in two decades; unemployment was 8%, the lowest since 1997. After a slip on subprime financial worries in August the stock market has made a full recovery and recently posted record highs. It is up 28% for the year.

All of this helped boost the fortunes of many of its richest citizens, who were also helped out by the falling dollar, down roughly 10% against the peso for the year. For the first time in a decade a Filipino broke into the billionaire ranks. The son of a poor immigrant factory worker, Andrew Tan restructured his holding company, Alliance Global, and reaped the benefits; his net worth jumped to $1.1 billion, up from $480 million last year.

The year's biggest gainer is Manuel Villar, the Philippine senate president, who is worth $940 million, up from $110 million last year. He got a big boost from the public offering of Vista Land & Lifescapes. Seven other tycoons including Tony Tan Caktiong and Enrique Razon Jr. saw their fortunes jump by at least $100 million. Fifteen others are wealthier than last year.

But not all rich listers fared as well. Fourteen are worth less than in 2006 but for reasons that often have to do with estate planning and better reporting. John Gokongwei gave away half his shares in JG Summit, the conglomerate he founded, to his family's foundation.

We also learned more details on holding company structures of such longtime rich listers as Henry Sy and Lucio Tan that resulted in lower valuations. As is the case with our other Asian rich lists, we try to focus where we can on individual--or at least nuclear family--wealth, so this year we broke up the billionaire Ayala clan into two separate groups.

The Philippine list is still the easiest to make in all of Asia, requiring a net worth of only $30 million, $5 million more than last year, but $50 million less than any other country we track. The top 40 are worth a total of $17 billion, up from $16 billion last year.

Wealth in public companies is calculated using stock prices and exchange rates from early October, while values of privately held outfits are estimates based on comparisons to prevailing price-to-earnings or price-to-sales ratios for similar publicly traded companies.

"If you want to know the past, talk to an economist. If you want to know the future, follow the tycoons," says Manuel Villar.

In the Philippines, that has lately meant restructuring companies or listing them on the robust stock market, which has seen daily turnover--a measure of liquidity--jump tenfold to $121 million since 2003.

Three companies backed by Philippine tycoons went public in a two-week period in July as these rich listers took advantage of strong market conditions. The first was Enrique Aboitiz, who spun off Aboitiz Power in a public listing, raising $220 million. Next was Villar, who de-listed his C&P Homes and took public a new company, Vista Land & Lifescapes, which included previously private assets as well as those from C&P. The maneuver helped boost Villar's net worth by $830 million.

At the end of the month came the debut of GMA Network, the nation's second-largest media outfit, controlled and run by rich listers Gilberto Duavit Jr., Felipe Gozon and Menardo Jimenez. It ran into some controversy when a daughter of Ferdinand Marcos tried to prevent the offering, claiming that Duavit Jr.'s shares actually belonged to her. Stock exchange officials allowed the listing to go ahead.

Up next is Splash, the personal care company operated by Rolando and Rosalinda Hortaleza, on track to go public later this year. Tycoon-backed companies that will likely follow suit include John Gokongwei's budget airline Cebu Pacific; the beer business of Eduardo Cojuangco's San Miguel, and McDonald's Philippines franchise, in which Andrew Tan has a 49% stake.

Rank/Net Worth ($ mil/age)

1 Jaime Zobel de Ayala & family $2,000 73 (Ayala/Community Innovations/Avida)
2 Henry Sy & family $1,700 82 (SM)
3 Lucio Tan & family $1,600 73 (Eton Prop)
4 Andrew Tan $1,100 55 (Megaworld/Empire East)
5 Manuel Villar $940 57 (Vista Land/Brittany/Crown Asia/Polar)
6 George Ty $870 74 (Federal Land)
7 Andrew Gotianun $860 79 (Filinvest Land)
8 Enrique Razon Jr. $820 47
9 Tony Tan Caktiong & family $790 57
10 Oscar Lopez & family $775 77 (Rockwell/Lopez)
11 Vivian Que Azcona & family $670 NA (Mercury)
12 Inigo & Mercedes Zobel $660 NA
13 Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. $540 72 (San Miguel Prop)
14 Emilio Yap & family $445 81
15 John Gokongwei Jr. & family $430 81 (Robinsons Land)
16 Enrique Aboitiz & family $375 85
17 Alfonso Yuchengco & family $365 84 (RCBC Land/Malayan/EEI)
18 Beatrice Campos $220 NA (Greenfield)
19 David Consunji & family $210 86 (DMCI)
20 Luis Virata $200 53
21 Gilberto Duavit Jr. & family $191 43 (GMA)
22 Menardo Jimenez & family $190 NA (GMA)
23 Felipe Gozon & family $165 67 (GMA)
24 Mariano Tan & family $140 NA
25 Ramon del Rosario Jr. $137 63
26 Ronaldo & Rosalinda Hortaleza $110 48/50
27 Manuel Zamora $105 68
28 Betty Ang $100 NA
29 Tomas Alcantara & family $90 61
30 Frederick Dy $70 51
31 Wilfred Steven Uytengsu Sr. $60 80
32 Salvador Zamora $55 61
33 Oscar Hilado & family $51 69
34 Philip T. Ang $50 66
35 Magdaleno Albarracin Jr. $49 71
36 Jesus Tambunting $47 70
37 Antonio Roxas $36 65
38 Manuel Pangilinan $35 61
39 Marixi Rufino-Prieto & family $33 67
40 Lourdes Montinola $30 79

[LordCarnal]

Umm, di nakaabot sa TOP 40 ang mga Gaisanos

[-TC-]

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/dec/04/yehey/opinion/20071204opi5.html

Honoring property titans
By Tony Lopez
Dec 4, 2007

BIZNEWSASIA, the Philippines’ largest weekly business and newsmagazine, ho*nored the country’s property pioneers and taipans with the BREW Award at a gala dinner marking its sixth anniversary Nov. 23 at the InterContinental.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and myself, as publisher and editor of BizNewsAsia, gave the BNA Real Estate Who Is Who (BREW) trophies and plaques to 23 outstanding individuals for their vision, innovative work, achievements and contributions in the field of real estate and its ancillary industries.

In a very real sense, the Philippines has grown on the strength of its real estate sector and the vision and dynamism of its major players. As a sector of the economy, real estate is both in industry and in services. Under industry, it is construction and utilities—electricity, gas and water. Under services, it is ownership of dwellings and real estate, and business services, including BPO.

The BNA anniversary gathered the country’s movers and shakers in government and business led by President Arroyo, Vice President Noli de Castro and Senate President Manuel Villar, Cabinet members Peter Favila of Trade, Ignacio Bunye of Press, Angelo Reyes of Energy, Bayani Fernando of the MMDA, BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr., PCGG chief Camilo Sabio, PEZA chief Lilia de Lima, and Senators Ed Angara and Loren Legarda.

The tycoons and CEOs were led by Henry Sy Sr., John Gokongwei Jr., Oscar Lopez of First Holdings, Raul Con*cepcion, Andrew Tan of AGI, Ramon Ang of SMC, Tessie Sy of BDO, P.O. Domingo of Allied Bank, Roy Navarro of CDC, Harley Sy, of SMIC, Tony Abacan and Placido Mapa of Metrobank, Omar Mier of PNB, King Aguiluz, Francis Lim of PSE, Felix Ang of CATS Motors, Jose Leviste Jr., Willie Soong of Jaguar, Dave Balangue of SGV, Jaime Ayala and Rene Almendras of Ayala, Donald Dee, Mike Varela, Sergio Ortiz Luiz, Elizabeth Lee of CAMPI and UMC, Helen Lee, Noel Oñate, Peter Coyiuto, Kingson Sian, Mike Enriquez, and Baby Arenas.

The BREW Awardees are: VP de Castro, Henry Sy Sr., Tessie Sy, John Gokongwei Jr, Andrew Tan, Frederick Go, Ramon Ang, Alfred Ty, Manuel Villar, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and brother Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Jacinto Tan Uy, Reghis Romero II, Manuel Serrano, Federico S. Quimbo, Rodolfo G. Valencia, Edgardo Vasquez, Nestor Mangio, Francisco Mañosa, Felino Palafox Jr., Andrew Gotianun, Bayani Fer*nando, and Rose Basa.

BizNewsAsia has unrivalled high-end readership of more than 210,000.

The BREW Awards are a first in the publishing industry.

Henry Sr. was cited for building the country’s largest mall empire (30 as of last count), making him the undisputed retailing king; for cobbling what today is the biggest bank, Banco de Oro, and for his genius in making the right buying decision and real estate acquisition at the wrong time. He opens malls in the middle of a crisis.

Gokongwei was honored for being the second biggest mall owner, the biggest call center landlord, the third biggest wireless provider, a major hotel owner, and for operating the biggest Philippine domestic airline.

Andrew Tan became the latest Filipino dollar billionaire by seeing trends early, like tapping early on the potential of Libis in Quezon City, predicting the demand for call centers, sensing the strong demand for housing by OFWs, and for his Midas touch, presiding over a conglomerate that today has P40 billion in assets, networth of P23 billion and a work force of over 4,000.

Under Ramon Ang, San Miguel is going into boom areas like property, energy, infrastructure and mining, putting depth and dimension to SMC being the largest and most diversified food conglomerate in Southeast Asia and the biggest company in the Philippines in revenues.

Manny Villar, the Senate president, has built more houses than any Filipino—130,000 units (his own count). By so doing, he became the first Filipino brown dollar billionaire when his C&P Homes went public in 1995. Now called Vista Land, his company is back to being a billion dollar company and has four major housing brands catering to low, low medium, medium, and high-end segments of the market.

The Zobel brothers, Jaime Augusto and Fernando, were cited for running the oldest, largest, most diversified and most profitable property conglomerate. After 173 years in real estate, Ayala remains the brand against which other major players are benchmarked.

Bayani Fernando is rebuilding Metro Manila and dramatically changing its landscape. His showcase project is the widening and beautification of Commonwealth Avenue which he promises to become the most fashionable avenue in the Philippines, “better than Ayala.”

Next year, on its 7th anniversary, BNA will give the BNA Business Icons Gold (BIG) Awards to honor individuals who are the gold standard in business and entrepreneurship, and the Second Annual BREW Awards.

[Animo]

New levels of production and exports of banana from Philippines displaces the Ecuadorean fruit in Asian markets. In less than a year, Ecuador lost half of its market in Japan and the tendency is decreasing.

Sales in 2006 reached USD 27.1 millions; last year it only reached USD 15.5 million. Ecuadorean growers are concerned that this trend will occur in other markets such as the Middle East and the EU too.

The Philippines are the most "dangerous" competitor for Ecuador, even more than Colombia and Costa Rica, declared some Ecuadorean exporters. Philippines has 40,000 hectares with a capacity of 120 million boxes per year.

Unifruit a Philippine-based firm will replace 5,000 hectares of rice plantations with bananas during the next five years with expectations to double its production. On the other hand, Ecuador reduced sales to the traditional markets: Italy, US, Germany and Spain. In spite of that, global exports continue to increase. In 2007, sales reached USD 1,250.9 million, 5,7% more than 2006. This is due to increasing exports to markets such as Russia, Belgium, former Yugoslavia, and Argentina among others.

According to Sergio Seminario, grower and exporter of bananas from Ecuador, the Philippines are the most important competitor from Ecuador. It overpasses Colombia and it is almost exporting the levels of Costa Rica. "Bananas from Philippines will not compete only in Asia but will look for new markets where Ecuador has exports. Colombia and Costa Rica have captive markets and will not be affected"

There is a general concern on the necessity to take care of Asian markets. Pompilio Espinosa, president at the Federación de la Cámaras de Productores de Banano, argues "the only thing we need is that government and banana growers/exporters define a certain policy".

Tariffs are also of a main concern for Ecuadorean exporters as Eduardo Ledesma, from AEBE argues, "middle East countries such as Syria, Iran, and Egypt have high tariffs of up to 32%. This does not include shipping costs of 25 days".

According to Ledesma, Costa Rica and Honduras have a special agreement with China to sale bananas in exchange of home appliance products. “We don't have this kind of agreements and we risk to lose these markets. It is urgent to strengthen commercial links and reduce trade obstacles”.

Publication date: 4/9/2008
Author: Jahir Lombana
Copyright: www.freshplaza.com

[diz]

Originally Posted by tigs

those philippine dried mangoes from cebu

yea for $10..

we have a lot of philippine exported goods here in America.

[diz]

Manila's Ayala enters Indian real estate market
http://in.reuters.com/article/domest...N5403020080421

MANILA, April 21 (Reuters) - The Philippines' biggest property developer Ayala Land (ALI.PS: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday an affiliate would form a joint venture with India's Mahindra Group to build an exclusive residential development in Chennai.

Mahindra will own 51 percent of the joint venture and the remainder will be owned by an investment vehicle controlled by ARCH Capital, an affiliate of Ayala Land.

Neither company said how much they would invest in the tie-up, which will be called Mahindra Residential Developers Ltd.

"This joint venture through ARCH Capital represents Ayala's first major foray into the Indian real estate market," said Fernando Zobel de Ayala, chairman of Ayala Land, in a statement.

"The Indian market is very attractive and we see many opportunities for joint development and partnerships in the future, not only in residential real estate development but even in high-growth areas such as business process outsourcing."

Ayala Land's entry into the Indian property market comes amid fears of a possible halt to a local real estate boom, as overseas demand for Philippine apartments and houses is hit by the slowdown in the United States.

The joint venture with Mahindra will involve 750 residential units being built on around 55 acres in the Mahindra World City in Chennai, the largest city in south India.

Ayala Land -- controlled by the Philippines' richest family, the Spanish-Filipino Zobel de Ayalas -- builds upscale malls, hotels, high-rise offices and residential condominiums and villages in the Philippines.

Its shares finished 2.3 percent down on Monday at 10.5 pesos, underperforming the general index which was 0.9 percent weaker. (Reporting by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by David Holmes)