Why Henry Sy Believes the Philippines is not Hopeless

MANILA, JUNE 5, 2006 (STAR) BULL MARKET, BULL SHEET
By Wilson Lee Flores

"I am optimistic that we can achieve a better future. It is not true that the Philippines is a hopeless case," 82-year-old SM Group and Banco de Oro founder Henry Sy recently told The Philippine STAR. "I am an immigrant who came here at 12 years old, spoke no English or Tagalog, but I came to appreciate the natural beauty and many economic advantages of the
Philippines more than many other people do, and I kept working and
investing with positive thinking."

The exclusive three-hour interview took place at his simple but elegant bungalow in North Forbes Park, Makati City, and at Tanabe Japanese Restaurant in his SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

In the over two decades I have known the legendary rags-to-riches taipan and shopping-mall pioneer, Henry Sy has become more mentally sharp and energetic than ever before. He is strong despite his weak knees, which occasionally forced him to use the wheelchair when we briefly toured his newest pride and passion at the SM Mall of Asia.

PHILIPPINE STAR: Congratulations on the success of the SM Mall of Asia. What did your competitors say about your biggest shopping-mall project yet?

HENRY SY: I called Robinsons mall boss John Gokongwei Jr to personally invite him to the blessing of the SM Mall of Asia, but he said he couldn't make it. Even though we are competitors, I do not think Gokongwei has any complaints about me.

Your executives tell me that one million people came to the SM Mall of Asia on your first day, May 21, then 400,000 came the next day, Monday. Why are people coming here, when this location is not along a highway like SM Megamall or at a crossroads like SM North Edsa?

A lot of the customers to this mall came from the provinces and they enjoy touring the place. It is not only constructing the place that creates a good mall, we at SM create destinations using continuous research, studies and new ideas to match the needs and wants of the people. Doing a mall is not only construction of the physical place, what's important is the merchandising mix. We strive to serve the convenience of the public. We want shopping at our malls to be a unique and an enjoyable experience.

Why did you build an Olympic-size ice-skating rink in this mall?

Very few people know this: I love skating and bowling. I used to roller skate a lot in my youth on Taft Avenue, Manila. That's the reason why there's always a skating area in all my SM malls. I want more people to share my love for skating.

When you were a kid, what was your original ambition?

I have always wanted to be a businessman. No other ambitions, I just wanted to be in business, even when I was a child in Fujian province, south China.

Why did you invest P7 billion in Mall of Asia's 500 outlets, 180 restaurants and other facilities, at a time when the Philippine economy is not that strong?

It's investment that manifests my strong confidence in the Philippine future. I hope this biggest mall project will have a positive impact on the Philippine economy and I hope to encourage other business people to invest, too. Not everything I do is purely for money. Of course, as a businessman and as head of publicly listed companies, we have to earn, but at this point
in my life, there are other considerations more important besides just money. I took a risk and invested in SM Mall of Asia because I wanted to create something that could contribute to Philippine tourism growth. If I am only after profits, the easiest way is for me t o construct high-rise condominiums here along the seashore facing Manila Bay, or I could just develop high-end subdivisions here and subdivide the lots to cash in quickly with big profits. But constructing this mall is a long-term investment; it is proof of my faith in the future of the Philippine economy. I wanted to build a beautiful destination for shopping, wholesome family-oriented entertainment and leisure. That church outside this mall, I donated it to everything from the structure, the land, to the interior furnishings and decor and it's not for profit.

What else do you wish to achieve after the SM Mall of Asia? What other big projects can we expect from you?

My biggest wish is for government, the private sector and all of us to work together to make the Philippines the best tourism destination in Southeast Asia. This is the reason I am always optimistic that the Philippines is not a hopeless case, contrary to what a lot of cynics claim. What Thailand can offer in tourism places and services, we in the Philippines can match, except for our past reputation in peace-and-order problems. That's what has held back our tourism growth. Philippine economic prospects are very good; we just have some problems in the investment environment which the government is now rectifying. Other export industries often rely on
imported raw materials and the Philippines often only earns the labor input, but in the tourism industry, the Philippines can earn as much as 80 percent for every dollar spent here on food, shopping, entertainment, hotels, transport, etc., while 20 percent probably goes to imported liquor and other luxury goods. I am into tourism with Tagaytay Highlands, Taal Vista Hotel. We shall keep investing in new tourist-friendly malls, we are now master-planning a new 5,700-hectare seaside tourism project called Hamilo Coastal in Batangas, and many others.

Why do you think the Philippines is ideal for tourism?

First, there's the location: we are just two to three hours from all the major Asian cities like Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and others. Second, our people are famous for the best service in Southeast Asia. Third, people here are proficient in English. Fourth, the Philippines has many naturally beautiful tourist destinations, beaches, thousands of
islands, unique flora and fauna, vast fishery resources, and others. Fifth, the Philippines is excellent in entertainment, which is important in tourism. Look at the singers and bands in top hotels, from Shanghai to Seoul to Tokyo, many of them are Filipino entertainers. Sixth, you do not need much capital or foreign investments for tourism development. Seventh, Philippine hospitality is better than others in ASEAN culture just look at the people's smiling faces. In our Chinese language, we call this "ho khe chieng", or people who are warm and hospitable in welcoming clients and guests. There are many more advantages. I could spend all day and all night talking to you about the tourism potentials of this country.

What are your suggestions on how to build up Philippine tourism?

I have a very simple formula based on common sense that will help accelerate Philippine tourism growth: the government should improve the peace-and-order situation as well as the international image of the Philippines on this crucial issue. The government should upgrade infrastructure, there should be a strong information campaign worldwide to promote the Philippines as an ideal tourism destination. In a recent event of HSBC, a TV talk show host of CNN asked for my advice to politicians and I shared only a few words of advice: work more, talk less. Government every year claims over two million tourist arrivals.

What do you think should be the ideal number of tourists coming to the Philippines annually?

Our target should first be to attract five million tourists in the first five years, then go for over 10 million in 10 years. Every time I meet President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, I always tell her this dream of mine and my excitement about Philippine tourism potentials because I know she really wants a better Philippine economy.

In this era of globalization, SM is also going international like the western multinationals Walmart, Carrefour, Metro and others.

What are your plans in China?

We have four major projects in China. In August or September this year, we shall inaugurate our new mall in Chengdu City, the capital of the 100-million- people Sichuan province. China is a dynamic place, it is amazing in progress.

Why is it that your children did not grow up spoiled, and seem to have imbibed your work ethic and business acumen?

How did you train them?

I think it's their innate natural drive. I also trained them in the importance of hard work. Even while they were in high school, my children used to spend their free time working at our SM Department Store in Makati.

Who among your six children like Tessie, Elizabeth, Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert and Harley will become your future successor and the leader of the SM Groups next generation?

I cannot for now ascertain who will be the leader. We are organized as corporations, publicly listed firms. Whoever becomes the leader of the next generation shall rise based on merits and abilities. Unlike other top Chinese business families in Asia, which favor male sons over daughters, all my six children are treated equally. My eldest child Tessie is hardworking and very capable; it doesn't matter that she's a woman. She always wants to learn and she is a fast learner.

A billionaire asked me recently who is richer, you or Lucio Tan?

How can I know for sure who is bigger in net worth when each person has his own strengths that not everyone fully appreciates? I don't like to say this guy is the biggest in wealth, because some people have wealth which is hidden and isn't that a fair point of view?

John Gokongwei Jr. told me that when he first applied for a loan with PBCom it was not approved, and it was China Bank's Dee K. Chiong and Dr. Albino SyCip who approved his first loan of P500,000 in 1950.

What about your first loan?

I don't usually like to get loans. In fact, the reason why we did well and completed our first mall project, SM North Edsa, even after the 1983 economic crisis and after the Ninoy Aquino assassination, was because we had very little loans then. I got my first credit line in 1949, it was from China Bank and they lent me P1 million. My credit line was approved by Mr. Yap Tian Siang in their head office before at Juan Luna Street, corner Dasmarinas Street.

Did you ever imagine in 1949 that you would someday own more than 70 percent of China Bank, and that you would have Banco de Oro and soon, possibly, Equitable PCIBank?

No, I never imagined then that I would own banks. You know, despite our many shareholdings in China Bank, the Dee family of the original founder has managed the institution so professionally and profitably, we never attempted to change the incumbent chairman Gilbert Dee or president Peter Dee. We are not that greedy, it's not good. I don't believe in wanting both power and financial gain. Even those executives who have been with China Bank for many years, they are still there. If a venerable institution like China Bank is doing so well, why make changes?

Is it true you already own 11 percent of San Miguel Corporation?

I have invested a lot in that well-managed company, but I do not want to mention figures.

What are the business principles or strategies that made you successful?

I would not classify this as a secret to success, but one of my lifelong practices is to pay my obligations on time, especially my suppliers. Even in my early years as retailer, I didn't delay my payments to suppliers, because I tell my kids that we have to be considerate to suppliers and think of their own "hinyong" or how they have to protect their sense of trustworthiness with others. If it's time to pay others on Monday, we would already deposit the money in their bank accounts on Friday, so they need not even come to our office to collect.

Your SM Cinemas do not allow R-18 or For Adults Only movies, including The Da Vinci Code. Are you a Catholic or is it just your wife?

I am Catholic, but yes, it's my wife Felicidad Tan Sy who is the most devout among us in the family. She devotes almost all her time and money to the Catholic Church.

Your SM Group leases out or has retail businesses in millions of square meters of prime commercial space. When you came to the Philippines as a 12-year-old boy, how big was the sari-sari store of your father and what was its name?

It was a small "ha-ya-tiam" , it had no name. It was located on Echague St., which is now Carlos Palanca Sr. St. in Quiapo, Manila. It was only about 30 square meters in floor area.

Why did you cry when you first saw your father in his store?

I cried because I saw how hard the life of my father was as a small shopkeeper. He worked from early morning to late at night every day.. He would go to "chay-chi-khaw" area or Divisoria to buy goods, carrying them himself on his back in order to resell in the store. I learned the importance of honest hard work, frugality and discipline from his example.

Where did you and your father sleep at night, on the second floor or at the back of the store?

Our sari-sari store was so small it had no back or second floor, we just slept on the counter late at night after the store was closed.

When you were a kid and you saw your father struggling with his sari-sari store, did that motivate you to aspire to become Southeast Asia's Shopping Mall King?

As a kid, I had the will to strive for excellence and to overcome the hard environment, but I never imagined attaining big success. Whatever I have achieved did not happen overnight; ever since my teen years I have devoted many, many years of my life to non-stop studying, diligent work and dreaming of a better future.

Speech: John Gokongwei , Jr. at Ad Congress

Nov 21, 2007

Before I begin, I want to say please bear with me, an 81-year-old man who just flew in from San Francisco 36 hours ago and is still suffering from jet lag. However, I hope I will be able to say what you want to hear…

Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Thank you very much for having me here tonight to open the Ad Congress. I know how important this event is for our marketing and advertising colleagues. My people get very excited and go into a panic, every other year, at this time.

I would like to talk about my life, entrepreneurship, and globalization. I would like to talk about how we can become a great nation.

You may wonder how one is connected to the other, but I promise that, as there is truth in advertising, the connection will come.

Let me begin with a story I have told many times. My own.

I was born to a rich Chinese-Filipino family. I spent my childhood in Cebu where my father owned a chain of movie houses, including the first air-conditioned one outside Manila. I was the eldest of six children and lived in a big house in Cebu's Forbes Park.

A chauffeur drove me to school everyday as I went to San Carlos University, then and still one of the country's top schools. I topped my classes and had many friends. I would bring them to watch movies for free at my father's movie houses.

When I was 13, my father died suddenly of complications due to typhoid. Everything I enjoyed vanished instantly. My father's empire was built on credit. When he died, we lost everything—our big house, our cars, our business—to the banks.

I felt angry at the world for taking away my father, and for taking away all that I enjoyed before. When the free movies disappeared, I also lost half my friends. On the day I had to walk two miles to school for the very first time, I cried to my mother, a widow at 32. But she said: "You should feel lucky. Some people have no shoes to walk to school. What can you do? Your father died with 10 centavos in his pocket."

So, what can I do? I worked.

My mother sent my siblings to China where living standards were lower. She and I stayed in Cebu to work, and we sent them money regularly. My mother sold her jewelry. When that ran out, we sold roasted peanuts in the backyard of our much-smaller home. When that wasn't enough, I opened a small stall in a palengke.
I chose one among several palengkes a few miles outside the city because there were fewer goods available for the people there. I woke up at five o'clock every morning for the long bicycle ride to the palengke with my basket of goods.

There, I set up a table about three feet by two feet in size. I laid out my goods—soap, candles, and thread—and kept selling until everything was bought. Why these goods? Because these were hard times and this was a poor village, so people wanted and needed the basics—soap to keep them clean, candles to light the night, and thread to sew their clothes.

I was surrounded by other vendors, all of them much older. Many of them could be my grandparents. And they knew the ways of the palengke far more than a boy of 15, especially one who had never worked before.

But being young had its advantages. I did not tire as easily, and I moved more quickly. I was also more aggressive. After each day, I would make about 20 pesos in profit! There was enough to feed my siblings and still enough to pour back into the business. The pesos I made in the palengke were the pesos that went into building the business I have today .

After this experience, I told myself, " If I can compete with people so much older than me, if I can support my whole family at 15, I can do anything!"

Looking back, I wonder, what would have happened if my father had not left my family with nothing? Would I have become the man I am? Who knows?

The important thing to know is that life will always deal us a few bad cards. But we have to play those cards the best we can. And WE can play to win!

This was one lesson I picked up when I was a teenager. It has been my guiding principle ever since. And I have had 66 years to practice self-determination. When I wanted something, the best person to depend on was myself.

And so I continued to work. In 1943, I expanded and began trading goods between Cebu and Manila. From Cebu, I would transport tires on a small boat called a batel. After traveling for five days to Lucena, I would load them into a truck for the six- hour trip to Manila. I would end up sitting on top of my goods so they would not be stolen! In Manila, I would then purchase other goods from the earnings I made from the tires, to sell in Cebu.

Then, when WWII ended, I saw the opportunity for trading goods in post-war Philippines. I was 20 years old. With my brother Henry, I put up Amasia Trading which imported onions, flour, used clothing, old newspapers and magazines, and fruits from the United States. In 1948, my mother and I got my siblings back from China. I also converted a two-story building in Cebu to serve as our home, office, and warehouse all at the same time. The whole family began helping out with the business .


In 1957, at age 31, I spotted an opportunity in corn-starch manufacturing. But I was going to compete with Ludo and Luym, the richest group in Cebu and the biggest cornstarch manufacturers. I borrowed money to finance the project. The first bank I approached made me wait for two hours, only to refuse my loan. The second one, China Bank, approved a P500,000-peso clean loan for me. Years later, the banker who extended that loan, Dr. Albino Sycip said that he saw something special in me. Today, I still wonder what that was, but I still thank Dr. Sycip to this day.

Upon launching our first product, Panda corn starch , a price war ensued. After the smoke cleared, Universal Corn Products was still left standing. It is the foundation upon which JG Summit Holdings now stands.

Interestingly, the price war also forced the closure of a third cornstarch company, and one of their chemists was Lucio Tan, who always kids me that I caused him to lose his job. I always reply that if it were not for me, he will not be one of the richest men in the Philippines today.

When my business grew, and it was time for me to bring in more people—my family, the professionals, the consultants, more employees—I knew that I had to be there to teach them what I knew. When dad died at age 34, he did not leave a succession plan. From that, I learned that one must teach people to take over a business at any time. The values of hard work that I learned from my father, I taught to my children. They started doing jobs here and there even when they were still in high school. Six years ago, I announced my retirement and handed the reins to my youngest brother James and only son Lance. But my children tease me because I still go to the office every day and make myself useful. I just hired my first Executive Assistant and moved into a bigger and nicer office.

Building a business to the size of JG Summit was not easy. Many challenges were thrown my way. I could have walked away from them, keeping the business small, but safe. Instead, I chose to fight. But this did not mean I won each time.

By 1976, at age 50, we had built significant businesses in food products anchored by a branded coffee called Blend 45, and agro-industrial products under the Robina Farms brand. That year, I faced one of my biggest challenges, and lost. And my loss was highly publicized, too. But I still believe that this was one of my defining moments.

In that decade, not many business opportunities were available due to the political and economic environment. Many Filipinos were already sending their money out of the country. As a Filipino, I felt that our money must be invested here. I decided to purchase shares in San Miguel, then one of the Philippines' biggest corporations. By 1976, I had acquired enough shares to sit on its board.

The media called me an upstart. " Who is Gokongwei and why is he doing all those terrible things to San Miguel?" ran one headline of the day. In another article, I was described as a pygmy going up against the powers-that-be. The San Miguel board of directors itself even aid for an ad in all the country's top newspapers telling the public why I should not be on the board.
On the day of reckoning, shareholders quickly filled up the auditorium to witness the battle. My brother James and I had prepared for many hours for this debate. We were nervous and excited at the same time.

In the end, I did not get the board seat because of the Supreme Court Ruling. But I was able to prove to others—and to myself—that I was willing to put up a fight. I succeeded because I overcame my fear, and tried. I believe this battle helped define who I am today. In a twist to this story, I was invited to sit on the board of Anscor and San Miguel Hong Kong 5 years later. Lose some, win some.

Since then, I've become known as a serious player in the business world, but the challenges haven't stopped coming.

Let me tell you about the three most recent challenges. In all three, conventional wisdom bet against us. See, we set up businesses against market Goliaths in very high-capital industries: airline, telecoms, and beverage.

Challenge No. 1 : In 1996, we decided to start an airline. At the time, the dominant airline in the country was PAL, and if you wanted to travel cheaply, you did not fly. You went by sea or by land.

However, my son Lance and I had a vision for Cebu Pacific: We wanted every Filipino to fly.

Inspired by the low-cost carrier models in the United States, we believed that an airline based on the no-frills concept would work here. No hot meals. No newspaper. Mono-class seating. Operating with a single aircraft type. Faster turn around time. It all worked, thus enabling Cebu Pacific to pass on savings to the consumer.

How did we do this? By sticking to our philosophy of "low cost, great value ."

And we stick to that philosophy to this day. Cebu Pacific offers incentives. Customers can avail themselves of a tiered pricing scheme, with promotional seats for as low a P1. The earlier you book, the cheaper your ticket.

Cebu Pacific also made it convenient for passengers by making online booking available. This year, 1.25 million flights will be booked through our website. This reduced our distribution costs dramatically.

Low cost. Great value.

When we started 11 years ago, Cebu Pacific flew only 360,000 passengers, with 24 daily flights to 3 destinations. This year, we expect to fly more than five million passengers, with over 120 daily flights to 20 local destinations and 12 Asian cities. Today, we are the largest in terms of domestic flights, routes and destinations.

We also have the youngest fleet in the region after acquiring new Airbus 319s and 320s. In January, new ATR planes will arrive. These are smaller planes that can land on smaller air strips like those in Palawan and Caticlan. Now you don't have to take a two-hour ride by mini-bus to get to the beach.

Largely because of Cebu Pacific, the average Filipino can now afford to fly. In 2005, 1 out of 12 Filipinos flew within a year. In 2012, by continuing to offer low fares, we hope to reduce that ratio to 1 out of 6. We want to see more and more Filipinos see their country and the world!

Challenge No. 2: In 2003, we established Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc. and developed a brand for the mobile phone business called Sun Cellular. Prior to the launch of the brand, we were actually involved in a transaction to purchase PLDT shares of the majority shareholder.

The question in everyone's mind was how we could measure up to the two telecom giants. They were entrenched and we were late by eight years! PLDT held the landline monopoly for quite a while, and was first in the mobile phone industry. Globe was a younger company, but it launched digital mobile technology here.

But being a late player had its advantages. We could now build our platform from a broader perspective. We worked with more advanced technologies and intelligent systems not available ten years ago. We chose our suppliers based on the most cost-efficient hardware and software. Being a Johnny-come-lately allowed us to create and launch more innovative products, more quickly.

All these provided us with the opportunity to give the consumers a choice that would rock their world. The concept was simple. We would offer Filipinos to call and text as much as they want for a fixed monthly fee. For P250 a month, they could get in touch with anyone within the Sun network at any time. This means great savings of as much as 2/3 of their regular phone bill! Suddenly, we gained traction. Within one year of its introduction, Sun hit one million customers.

Once again, the paradigm shifts - this time in the telecom industry. Sun's 24/7 Call and Text unlimited changed the landscape of mobile-phone usage.

Today, we have over 4 million subscribers and 2000 cell sites around the archipelago. In a country where 97% of the market is pre-paid, we believe we have hit on the right strategy.

Sun Cellular is a Johnny-come-lately, but it's doing all right. It is a third player, but a significant one, in an industry where Cassandras believed a third player would perish. And as we have done in the realm of air travel, so have we done in the telecom world: We have changed the marketplace.

In the end, it is all about making life better for the consumer by giving them choices.



Challenge No. 3: In 2004, we launched C2, the green tea drink that would change the face of the local beverage industry -- then, a playground of cola companies. Iced tea was just a sugary brown drink served bottomless in restaurants. For many years, hardly was there any significant product innovation in the beverage business.

Admittedly, we had little experience in this area. Universal Robina Corporation is the leader in snack foods but our only background in beverage was instant coffee. Moreover, we would be entering the playground of huge multinationals. We decided to play anyway.

It all began when I was in China in 2003 and noticed the immense popularity of bottled iced tea. I thought that this product would have huge potential here. We knew that the Philippines was not a traditional tea-drinking country since more familiar to consumers were colas in returnable glass bottles. But precisely, this made the market ready for a different kind of beverage. One that refreshes yet gives the health benefits of green tea. We positioned it as a "spa" in a bottle. A drink that cools and cleans…thus, C2 was born.

C2 immediately caught on with consumers. When we launched C2 in 2004, we sold 100,000 bottles in the first month. Three years later, Filipinos drink around 30 million bottles of C2 per month. Indeed, C2 is in a good place.

With Cebu Pacific, Sun Cellular, and C2, the JG Summit team took control of its destiny. And we did so in industries where old giants had set the rules of the game. It's not that we did not fear the giants. We knew we could have been crushed at the word go. So we just made sure we came prepared with great products and great strategies. We ended up changing the rules of the game instead.

There goes the principle of self-determination, again. I tell you, it works for individuals as it does for companies. And as I firmly believe, it works for nations.

I have always wondered, like many of us, why we Filipinos have not lived up to our potential. We have proven we can. Manny Pacquiao and Efren Bata Reyes in sports. Lea Salonga and the UP Madrigal Singers in performing arts. Monique Lhuillier and Rafe Totenco in fashion. And these are just the names made famous by the media. There are many more who may not be celebrities but who have gained respect on the world stage.

But to be a truly great nation, we must also excel as entrepreneurs before the world. We must create Filipino brands for the global market place.

If we want to be philosophical, we can say that, with a world-class brand, we create pride for our nation. If we want to be practical, we can say that, with brands that succeed in the world, we create more jobs for our people, right here.

Then, we are able to take part in what's really important—giving our people a big opportunity to raise their standards of living, giving them a real chance to improve their lives.

We can do it. Our neighbors have done it. So can we.
In the last 54 years, Korea worked hard to rebuild itself after a world war and a civil war destroyed it. From an agricultural economy in 1945, it shifted to light industry, consumer products, and heavy industry in the '80s. At the turn of the 21 st century, the Korean government focused on making Korea the world's leading IT nation. It did this by grabbing market share in key sectors like semiconductors, robotics, and biotechnology.

Today, one remarkable Korean brand has made it to the list of Top 100 Global Brands: Samsung. Less then a decade ago, Samsung meant nothing to consumers. By focusing on quality, design, and innovation, Samsung improved its products and its image. Today, it has surpassed the Japanese brand Sony. Now another Korean brand, LG Collins, is following in the footsteps of Samsung. It has also broken into the Top 100 Global Brands list.

What about China? Who would have thought that only 30 years after opening itself up to a market economy, China would become the world's fourth largest economy? Goods made in China are still thought of as cheap. Yet many brands around the world outsource their manufacturing to this country. China's own brands—like Lenovo, Haier, Chery QQ, and Huawei—are fast gaining ground as well. I have no doubt they will be the next big electronics, technology and car brands in the world.

Lee Kwan Yu's book "From Third World to First" captures Singapore's aspiration to join the First World. According to the book, Singapore was a trading post that the British developed as a nodal point in its maritime empire. The racial riots there made its officials determined to build a "multiracial society that would give equality to all citizens, regardless of race, language or religion."

When Singapore was asked to leave the Malaysian Federation of States in 1965, Lee Kwan Yew developed strategies that he executed with single-mindedness despite their being unpopular. He and his cabinet started to build a nation by establishing the basics: building infrastructure, establishing an army, weeding out corruption, providing mass housing, building a financial center. Forty short years after, Singapore has been transformed into the richest South East Asian country today, with a per capita income of US$32,000.

These days, Singapore is transforming itself once more. This time it wants to be the creative hub in Asia, maybe even the world. More and more, it is attracting the best minds from all over the world in filmmaking, biotechnology, media, and finance. Meantime, Singaporeans have also created world-class brands: Banyan Tree in the hospitality industry, Singapore Airlines in the Airline industry and Singapore Telecoms in the telco industry.

I often wonder: Why can't the Philippines, or a Filipino, do this?

Fifty years after independence, we have yet to create a truly global brand. We cannot say the Philippines is too small because it has 86 million people. Switzerland, with 9 million people, created Nestle. Sweden, also with 9 million people, created Ericsson . Finland, even smaller with five million people, created Nokia. All three are major global brands, among others.

Yes, our country is well-known for its labor, as we continue to export people around the world. And after India, we are grabbing a bigger chunk of the pie in the call-center and business-process-outsourcing industries. But by and large, the Philippines has no big industrial base, and Filipinos do not create world-class products.

We should not be afraid to try—even if we are laughed at. Japan, laughed at for its cars, produced Toyota. Korea, for its electronics, produced Samsung. Meanwhile, the Philippines' biggest companies 50 years ago—majority of which are multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola, Procter and Gamble, and Unilever Philippines, for example—are still the biggest companies today. There are very few big, local challengers.

But already, hats off to Filipino entrepreneurs making strides to globalize their brands.

Goldilocks has had much success in the Unites States and Canada, where half of its customers are non-Filipinos. Coffee-chain Figaro may be a small player in the coffee world today, but it is making the leap to the big time. Two Filipinas, Bea Valdez and Tina Ocampo , are now selling their Philippine-made jewelry and bags all over the world. Their labels are now at Barney's and Bergdorf's in the U.S. and in many other high-end shops in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

When we started our own foray outside the Philippines 30 years ago, it wasn't a walk in the park. We set up a small factory in Hong Kong to manufacture Jack and Jill potato chips there. Today, we are all over Asia. We have the number-one-potato-chips brand in Malaysia and Singapore. We are the leading biscuit manufacturer in Thailand, and a significant player in the candy market in Indonesia. Our Aces cereal brand is a market leader in many parts of China. C2 is now doing very well in Vietnam, selling over 3 million bottles a month there, after only 6 months in the market. Soon, we will launch C2 in other South East Asian markets.

I am 81 today. But I do not forget the little boy that I was in the palengke in Cebu. I still believe in family. I still want to make good. I still don't mind going up against those older and better than me. I still believe hard work will not fail me. And I still believe in people willing to think the same way.

Through the years, the market place has expanded: between cities, between countries, between continents. I want to urge you all here to think bigger. Why serve 86 million when you can sell to four billion Asians? And that's just to start you off. Because there is still the world beyond Asia. When you go back to your offices, think of ways to sell and market your products and services to the world. Create world-class brands.

You can if you really tried. I did. As a boy, I sold peanuts from my backyard. Today, I sell snacks to the world.

I want to see other Filipinos do the same.

Thank you and good evening once again.


-- Shared by Armando B. Aspiras

My kind of Filipinos

This story was taken from http://www.inq7.net/

My kind of Filipinos
Posted 00:19am (Mla time) Feb 19, 2005
By Solita Collas-Monsod
Inquirer News Service

ONE of the noteworthy results of the Pulse Asia Survey conducted last November was that almost two-thirds (63 percent) of the respondents-where every Filipino had an equal chance to be selected-disagreed with the statement, "This country is hopeless," with 20 percent undecided and only a relatively small minority (16 percent) agreeing. A significantly smaller proportion, but still a majority (54 percent), also disagreed with the statement, "If it were only possible, I would migrate to another country and live there," with 18 percent undecided, and a larger minority (28 percent) agreeing.

Those statistics need a human face, and this column is devoted to Chris and Marivic Bernido, who are exemplars of this majority and whose actions show how deeply they love their country and how much they are willing to do to make it a better place to live in.

Chris and Marivic are not your average Filipino couple. Both have PhDs in Theoretical Physics (State University of New York, Albany) and have distinguished themselves in the field, in the Philippines and abroad, with an international reputation in Path Integrals Method and White Noise Analysis (don't ask me what these are, but they sound impressive). Their names appear as authors or co-authors in the Journal of Mathematical Physics and other international journals. Both were in the faculty (Chris was director) of the National Institute of Physics, University of the Philippines, and both earned "Outstanding Teacher" awards when they resigned in 1999.

It is easy to jump to the conclusion that they left UP for greener pastures abroad. With their qualifications, they could work practically anywhere in the developed world, at salaries at least 10 times the local rates. But if that was what happened, this story would have been about two more Filipinos who joined the brain drain.

Money was not their object. They went back to Jagna, Bohol, (population 30,000) to set up the Central Visayas Institute Foundation with two seemingly disparate arms: the Research Center for Theoretical Physics (RCTP), serving Visayas and Mindanao, and the Central Visayas Institute Foundation (CVIF) high school, originally set up 30 years before by Chris' grandfather, which was floundering. Their primary aim was investment in human capital, more precisely human capital development. It was payback time-to the country they love.

That the RCTP is flourishing should be no surprise, given the backgrounds of the founders. It regularly conducts seminars and workshops for the transfer of technology and knowledge. It helps institutions of higher learning in Visayas and Mindanao improve their research and teaching capabilities, as well as their academic programs, and hosts triennial international conferences which have attracted some of the best physicists in the world, including Nobel laureates. The Bernidos receive no help from the Philippine government for these efforts.

But if the Bernidos' work in RCTP serves as a beacon for physics research and training, their work in CVIF is making waves in the Philippine education circles. The school has been visited by educators from all over the country (the most recent being the consortium of Poveda, De La Salle and Immaculate Conception Academy), and the Bernidos have been invited to expound on what they are doing under the sponsorship of the Fund for Assistance to Private Education.

Why? Because in the course of four years of school administration (principal, director), teaching (General Science, Chemistry, Physics, Geometry) and by firsthand experience, they realized that the traditional teaching methods developed in the West were not effective in the current Philippine context. So they worked out a program called the CVIF Dynamic Learning Program (CVIF Program, for short) which is suitable for the large classes common in the Philippines, requires a smaller number of textbooks, needs fewer science equipment, reduces teaching personnel requirements, is less dependent on the abilities and personalities of teachers, has built-in checks of dysfunctional behavior observed in Filipinos (which they list as: a culture of dependence, underdeveloped virtue of honesty, low standards of quality or the pwede na 'yan attitude, skewed priorities, and a poor concept of time and discipline in keeping schedules). In short, a program that addresses the problems and adverse conditions existing in the country.

And get this, folks: the students have no homework under the CVIF Program (I hope to write more about this in another column).

That the program is succeeding can be judged from what the Bernidos call external checks. First is that for the first time in their school's history, students passed the UP College Admission Test two years in a row: five (out of 12 who took it) in 2003, and four in 2002 (after eight years without any passers). Second is that in the Mathematical Challenge for Filipino Kids Training Program conducted by the Mathematics Trainers Guild (MTG) of the Philippines, the number of CVIF qualifiers rose from one to eight to 10 since 2002-with two of them ranking second and third overall, outranking their counterparts from Tagbilaran City.

How's that performance for a rural high school where almost half of the students had a parent or guardian who did not get past high school? Chris and Marivic dream of some of those students eventually feeding into the Research Center for Theoretical Physics. And they are working hard to realize that dream.

They are my kind of Filipinos.