-Henry Sy, Sr. (Chinese: 施至成; pinyin: Shī ZhìChéng; born December 25, 1924) is a Chinese Filipino businessman and the founder and chairman of SM Prime Holdings, the largest retailer and shopping mall operator in the Philippines. He earned his Associate of Arts degree in Commercial Studies at Far Eastern University in 1950. Acknowledged as the country’s "Retail King," he has come a long way from the modest shoe store he set up in Quiapo in 1946, to become Asia's biggest shopping mall operator with over 30 malls throughout the Philippines. He is the Philippines' richest man, gaining 1.4 billion dollars in 2007, amid the global financial crisis. The huge gain was due to his holding company, SM Investments Corp., which has interests in Banco de Oro Universal Bank, inter alia. Forbes magazine's 2008 list of 40 wealthiest Filipinos, revealed the Sy family's net worth was 3.1 billion dollars. Earlier, he was the 2nd wealthiest individual in the Philippines, next to Lucio Tan and (as of 2008) 843rd in the world. Sy is considered a Tai-Pan or tycoon of Asia. The Sy group is the operator of Banco de Oro Universal Bank and owner of China Banking Corporation. In 2006, he bought the remaining 66% of Equitable PCI Bank, the Philippines 3rd largest lender, in which he already had a 34% stake, and merged it with Banco de Oro Universal Bank in 2007. The merger created the Philippines's second largest financial institution with resources of close to $17billion dollars. A conspiracy tell that the Sy family has a personal stake of $4 billion in these 3 banks, although there are still no sufficient evidences that strongly substantiate such matter. Mr. Sy has recently sold his 11% stake in San Miguel Corporation, Southeast Asia's largest food and beverage conglomerate for $680 million. Henry Sy, Sr., was named "Management Man of the Year" by the Makati Business Club and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Business Management by De La Salle University-Manila in January 1999. He organized the SM Foundation Inc., which helps underprivileged but promising young Filipinos. Sy's retail chain is SM Prime Holdings, known as "Shoe Mart" or simply "SM". Several of his children now hold senior management positions in his companies, although he has groomed daughter Teresita Sy-Coson and his grandchildren Hailey Sy-Coson, Darcie Sy, and Josiah Sy as his successors. Sy's holding company, SM Investments Corp., has consistently been cited as one of the Philippines best-managed companies. On May 20, 2006, The SM Mall of Asia, built in the reclamation area of Pasay City, was opened to the public. It is the sixth-largest mall in the world. Sy got his start by selling smuggled shoes from abroad.[4]
2.Cecilio Kwok Pedro – founder of Lamoiyan Corp. (Hapee toothpaste)
-Pedro, became one of the first Filipinos who became successful in the exporting industry. His Chinese surname, Kwok means "to give" is truly an exact description of this man. He started doing business at an early age, compared to other boys his age, Pedro tried and jumped into buying and selling ball pens in grade school even if the results were not good. A Chinese-Filipino descent, he graduated from Ateneo de Manila University and earned a degree in Business Management. He also received the Honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Technological Management from Technological University of the Philippines.
He is married with one son, Joel, who is now also part of the said company. His son is a marketing graduate from De La Salle University. A Christian since birth, his values extends to people whom he helped fulfill their dreams. He chairs this foundation and established schools in Laguna, Nueva Ecija and Palawan and 13 community centers all over the country. He also supports an NGO – Kaisa Para sa Kaunlaran which helps produce a television show for children.
3. Alfredo M. Yao – Zest-O Corp. (Zest-O)
Yao became a breadwinner at an early age after his father died when he was only 12 years old. He is the eldest of the six children, being penniless, he started to work to help the family because his mother’s earnings as a sidewalk vendor could not support their needs. He would accompany his mother to Chinese gambling dens to sell. He hardly finished his elementary and high school education but with the help of a relative, he completed it. He went to the Mapua Institute of Technology for college but had to leave after two years. Later on, he was still able to earn his degree in Engineering under the same institute and got his doctorate degree in Business Administration Honoris Causa from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Yao worked hard and did odd jobs such as working in a warehouse of a packaging company. At that time, one of his cousins was working in a printing press and had the chance to visit the work place several times. And there he saw the potential market in the packaging business and decided to invest. It was the birth of Solemar Commercial Press, named after his mother.
The said printing press was engaged into making cellophane wrappers of biscuits and candies and stayed 20 years as a business. Then in 1979, while touring around Europe, Mr. Yao came to discover the technology in packaging called “doy packs.” Or flexible foil packs, in one of the exhibits. He bought the machine and tried to market the idea of doy packs to local juice manufacturers in the Philippines but nobody seemed interested. He himself used the said equipment and started preparing fruit juice in his own kitchen.
The company was established as SEMEXCO Marketing Corporation, soon after it adopted the name Zest-O because of its fame. In 1980, Zest-O juice drink was launched and soon, it became a big-hit in the Philippines and eventually capturing 80% of the market for ready-to-juice drinks. Soon, other flavors were introduced to the market such as orange flavor are mango, grape, pineapple, strawberry, guyabano (sour soup), apple, calamansi, mango-orange, mango-calamansi and mango-lemon lime flavors.
Yao soon launched other brands including juice brands including Sun-glo Juice Drink, Big 250 Juice Drink, and Plus!which exported to other neighboring countries in Asia like China, Korea, and Singapore and in some parts of America and Europe, Tita Frita Tomato and Banana Catsup, Beam Toothpaste, One Ice Tea, and Tekki Yaki Udon.
