PH bags 9 trophies at ASEAN Business Awards

The Gokongwei family stands with President Duterte at the ASEAN Business Awards. 91-year old patriarch John Gokongwei Jr. received the ASEAN 2017 legacy award tonight.(Photo: Bloomberg TV Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA— Nine Filipino enterprises were recognized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC) at the ASEAN Business Awards 2017 for their outstanding contribution to the advancement of business environment in the region.

JG Summit Holdings, Inc. Founder John Gokongwei Jr. was one the Legacy Awardees, or those who have set standard of excellence in doing business in ASEAN and become integral to the development of entrepreneurship in the region.

Tycoons Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and Teodoro Ferrer of Erikagen, Inc. received the Inclusive Business Award, while Udenna Corp. Founder Dennis Uy won the Young Entrepreneur Award.

Lamoiyan Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilio Pedro, on the other hand, bagged the Small and Medium Enterprise Excellence Award for Corporate Social Responsibility.

Emma Imperial of Imperial Homes Corp. was named as winner for Green Technology Award.

Four Filipino entrepreneurs won awards in ASEAN Priority Sectors category including Paul Rodriguez of Asian Marine Transport Corp. for logistics; Pedro Delantar of Nature’s Legacy Eximport for wood-based sector; Olivia Limpe-Aw of Destileria Limtuaco & Co. for agri-food; and Bernie Liu of Golden ABC for retail.

Since 2007, the ASEAN Business Awards has recognized 122 outstanding entrepreneurs in the region.

For this year, 67 recipients will receive the ASEAN Business Awards – the largest batch of winners for the past 10 years.

Other recipients of the ASEAN Business Awards 2017 include the following:

Legacy Awardees
• Brunei Darussalam’s Haji Musa Bin Hj Adnin of Adnin Group of Companies
• Indonesia’s Dr. (H.C.) Sudhamek AWS of GarudaFood
• Laos’ Rattana Prathoumvan of EDL Generation Public Company
• Malaysia’s Goh Peng Ooi of Silverlake Axis Limited
• Myanmar’s Aung Ko Win of Kanbawza Bank
• Singapore’s Wee Cho Yaw of United Overseas Bank
• Thailand’s Sakchai Unchittikul of Srichiengmai Industry Company
• Vietnam’s Le Thu Thuy of BRG Group

SME Excellence Awardees
• Growth category — Thailand’s Nansha Jungkankul of Kunna Groceries Co. Ltd.
• Employment category — Singapore’s Dato Thambynathan Jasudasen of Zico Holdings, Inc.
• Innovation Fame category — Myanmar’s Dr. Khin Maung Lwin of Pharmaceuticals Industry Co. Ltd.

ASEAN Priority Sectors Awardee
• e-ASEAN — Singapore’s Kok Khun Wong of DeCloud Ltd.
• Rubber — Malaysia’s Kuang Sia Lim of Kossan Rubber Industries
• Healthcare — Indonesia’s Vidjongtius of PT Kalbe Farma
• Tourism — Malaysia’s Tony Fernandes of Air Asia

Most Promising Awardees
• Brunei’s Adrian Tan Vui Shung of Printmartz Advertising
• Camobodia’s Jojo Malolos of Wing Ltd. Specialised Bank
• Laos’ Phou vong Phamisith of Phouvong Jewelry
• Myanmar’s Aung Soe Tha of Myanmar Com Biz Trading Co.
• Vietnam’s Thi Thu Huang Nguyen of Nghia Nippers Corp.
Women Entrepreneur Award Winner — Laos’ Sirina Sisombat-Hervy of Sinouk Coffee
Friends of ASEAN Awardees
• Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd — Philippine Branch with Anna Green of Australia
• Prudential Corp. Asia with Nicolas Nicolandrou of Hong Kong
• Robert Bosch (SEA) Pte. Ltd. with Martin Hayes of Germany

President Rodrigo Duterte graced the event.

He encouraged big businesses to support small-scale enterprises in ASEAN and help them contribute to the growth and development of the region.

“It is now your responsibility to help your fellow entrepreneurs do better and achieve more, to propel micro entrepreneurs to become small, and the small to become medium and so on,” he said.

“You are the next breed of role models, and I look forward to your becoming the future mentors,” added President Duterte, who is also the ASEAN chairman for this year.