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Thursday, March 28, 2024

The BizNewsAsia success story

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The Philippines’ largest weekly business and news magazine marked its 15th anniversary Friday, November 25, at Edsa Shangrila by honoring the country’s outstanding tycoons, leaders and professionals for excellence, service to country, and for making life better for Filipinos.  

As BizNewsAsia Publisher and CEO, I was the gracious host.  The event cost me a fortune; Shangri-La is an expensive place and guests were not charged their sumptuous scallops, steak and salmon dinner, unlike other award-giving publications or groups which charge as much as P5,000 per plate for one to be able to attend their party.  But what the hell, a publication marks its 15th year only once in its lifetime.  Despite Friday’s horrendous traffic, rains and rallies, the BNA anniversary was an SRO affair.  My boss at this paper, Martin Romualdez, looked very gwapo and dapper.

Today, BizNewsAsia has a pass-on circulation of 350,000 readers with each copy (the record copies sold is 35,000) having ten readers.

Three former presidents lent power, prestige, and presidential gravitas to the occasion—Fidel V. Ramos, now Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada, and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.  They also led this year’s outstanding batch of BizNewsAsia awardees.

“BiznewsAsia was a hell of a party.  I don’t recall attending a birthday party where three former presidents were in attendance,” prominent Manila lawyer and shareholder rights advocate Francis Lim texted me the other day. 

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“This is like a National Security Council meeting, without the cabinet,” former President Ramos told me in jest.   

Indeed, if it were, the national government could have received valuable insights from the tycoons and business leaders who graced the by-invitation only BNA anniversary. 

The event also marked my 68th birthday and my 46 years of journalism as a political and business writer and columnist.

President Duterte and his key cabinet members had just landed the same night in Davao City fresh from their Apec summit.  His administration was ably represented by Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

The CEOs and presidents of among the nation’s largest conglomerates and enterprises were in attendance. 

Leading the awardees were President Ramon S. Ang of San Miguel Corp. and Chairman Teresita Sy-Coson of BDO.  She is also vice chairman of the SM Investments Corp.

SMC is the Philippines’ largest corporation in sales (more than P800 billion), profits (more than P51 billion), and diversified businesses (beer, fuel, foods, packaging, power generation, tollways, bulk water, airport, infrastructure, mining, and real estate).  Ang masterminded that diversification parlaying $5- billion proceeds (profits from mergers and acquisitions and investments) during this century to transform SMC.  Today, SMC’s motto is “your world made better”.

BDO is the Philippines’ largest bank.  SMIC is the largest mall operator and department store operator, largest retailer, property developer, and largest Philippine investor in China. The largest listed company in stock market capitalization.  Its focus is the mass market offering essential services such as food, clothing, housing and finance.  It has also moved into mining and casinos.

Other awardees for entrepreneurship, management and financial management excellence are: JJ Atencio, president-CEO 8990 Holdings Inc.; Henry Lim Bon Liong, chair-CEO, SL Agritech Corp.; Wellington Soong, president-CEO, Frigate Holdings; Elizabeth Lee, president-CEO, EMotors; Bansan Choa. Chairman and CEO, I-Remit; Marife Zamora, chairman of Convergys Philippines Services Corp. and president of the Management Association of the Philippines; Joseph Calata, president and founder of Calata Corp., Myrna Yao, CEO, Richprime Global Inc.; Emma Imperial, president-CEO, Imperial Homes Group; and RoseMarie Basa, chairman, PhilRealm Development Corp.

Cited for distinguished public service and governance excellence aside from Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo were: Lilia de Lima, director general for 21 years of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority; Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Teresita Herbosa, and Senator Loren Legarda.

For financial management excellence, the awardees are: Ferdinand Constantino, CFO, San Miguel Corp.; Chaye Cabal Revilla, CFO, Smart Communications; and Felipe S. Yalong, CFO, GMA Network  Inc.

Awards will also go to Mike Enriquez of GMA News, for broadcast excellence; lawyer Francis Lim for shareholder rights advocacy, lawyer Manuel “Lolong” Lazaro, excellence in law; and Sergio Ortiz Luis Jr and Donald Dee, business leadership.

I attribute BizNewsAsia’s success to its focus—the things that count—business, the economy, the Philippines.  The weekly celebrates success in business and success in the economy.  In turn, success in business and success in the economy make for a successful Philippines, which today is among the fastest-growing in Asia.

In the course of the last 15 years, at least four local magazines tried to copy BNA’s format – a newsweekly devoted to business and economic news.  They all failed eventually and miserably.   Foreign branded magazines also tried to operate locally.  They either have failed or are struggling, despite being global brands.

Why does BizNewsAsia thrive when older and bigger brands with a wider foreign footprint do not in the Philippines?

Maybe, we have been lucky.  Maybe, we are talented.  Maybe, we are both.  But one thing is definite about us—Our focus—business, the economy, the Philippines

BizNewsAsia easily outsells local magazines and foreign brands because of its broad and deep coverage of business, politics and global issues, and outstanding profiles of personalities in business and governance.

When BizNewsAsia started giving awards, yearly, to business people for excellence, the practice also engendered copycats.  Now, nearly every business group or big company has its own awards. 

Despite the proliferation of such awards, those of BizNewsAsia remain much sought after. 

Why? Because I know the awardees at heart.  I have covered business and politics for 46 years, I have known many of today’s tycoons, taipans, and politicians and monitored their rise to the top.

Also, I am a political writer.  Very few senior journalists today straddle business journalism and political journalism and succeed in doing both.

I trained formally for journalism and business writing – four years of journalism at UST, magna cum laude; three semesters of MBA units at Ateneo, and global journalism at the University of Stockholm.

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