Teresita Sy-Coson, Vice-Chairperson of SM Investments Corporation Reiterates the Case for Investing in the Philippines
Pasay City, Philippines, 2014-11-3— /EPR Retail News/ — Proudly bearing the Philippine flag last October 29, 2014 in Singapore at the recent by-invitation only Forbes Global CEO Conference, SM Investments Corporation Vice Chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson made a case for investments in the Philippines and reiterated why the timing to be in the country is now more than ever.
Together with four other speakers in a panel, Ms. Coson helped provide insights on the proposition of wealth creation and what is in the horizon for tomorrow’s growth specifically for the Philippines. The other speakers were (Ms) Chew Gek Khim (Executive Chairman of The Straits Trading Company, Ltd. – Singapore), Yoshihiko Miyauchi (Senior Chairman, ORIX Corporation – Japan), Steven Pan (Executive Chairman, Regent Hotels and Resorts – Taiwan) and Gary Rieschel (Managing Partner, Qiming Venture Partners – Shanghai, PRC).
While the speakers expressed varying views about where to look for growth, manage returns, and how to manage risks and disruption to a thriving business economy, all were united in the perceived potential for Asia.
“We have been unnoticed and undervalued for quite some time; yet, in the last five years, our GDP has been growing at an average of 5%. With our current President, we have had an improvement in governance. Our population is young (between the ages of 21 to 35) with a huge earning capacity and a large number of overseas Filipino workers that consistently send remittances to their families. This in turn helps our economy,” Ms. Coson stressed.
“The Philippines is unique and it needs to be looked at with a long term view longer than a 2-to 3-year window. Given that we are a strong service-oriented economy, the BPO industry is a natural fit. As a domestic investor, I am very optimistic. There is a lot of liquidity for our size in the Philippines. If you look back at the country’s economic history, we have had steady growth,” she added.
Mr. Rieschel and Mr. Miyauchi agreed and mentioned the undervalued potential in the Philippines. They emphasized the country’s growth opportunities in their own discourse at the panel.
Moderator, Rich Karlgaard, Publisher of Forbes Magazine led the panel discussion on “Profit for Tomorrow’s Growth” and dissected the various innovative and opportunistic investments, and wealth strategies while also asking about the effects of technology and geo-political tensions in Asia.
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About SM Investments Corporation
SM Investments Corporation (SM) is one of the leading conglomerates in the Philippines with highly synergistic businesses in retail, banking and property development. SM has evolved into one of the highly respected companies in the country owing to its progressive approach in business and its comprehensive sustainability programs for its host communities through SM Foundation and SM Cares.
SM’s retail operations enjoy a strong brand franchise consisting of The SM Store and its food retail chains namely SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, Savemore and WalterMart stores. SM’s property arm, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. is among the largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia with interests in mall, residential, commercial and tourism development. SM’s interests in banking are in BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO), the country’s largest and in China Banking Corporation (China Bank), the fifth largest. Combined, these two banks have a network of over 1,000 branches nationwide.
All told, in just 56 years, SM has become one of the largest market capitalized companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange, a testament to its ability to deliver steady high earnings and asset growth, sound financial management that creates value for all its stakeholders.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Therese Necio-Ortega
Vice President for Corporate Communications
SM Investments Corporation
Email: therese.necio@sminvestments.com
Tel.No. (632) 857-0224
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