A timely shift
EUSEBIO H. TANCO was born into a family of business. But that didn’t stop him from carving his own niche in the business community.
His father, Agustin, better known as “Kanga”, was a self-made textile tycoon and construction materials trader. The younger Tanco, on the other hand, trod a different path.
He started out as a salesman, selling non-life insurance for the Philippines First Insurance Company. It’s his family’s company, but he decided to start as a sales agent anyway. He took the job right after earning a master’s degree in Economics from the London School of Economics.
His stint as a student abroad, however, was almost cut short. It was a struggle, he admitted. “New place, new culture, different climate — their English intonation was different. The first few weeks was really a challenge,” Mr. Tanco shared in an interview with BusinessWorld. “I was on the verge of saying that ‘ this is not for me.’ I wanted to go home.”
Although he never intended to follow his father’s footsteps, Mr. Tanco had always sought advice and encouragement from him. And he was seldom — if not never — let down. It was his father who spurred him to stay on and earn his postgraduate degree, he said.
“He never imposed or dictated on me what he wanted me to be. He rather supported and encouraged me to pursue what I wanted to do,” said Mr. Tanco. “He said that he has already informed his friends that ‘ you’re going to fi nish there in London with flying colors.’ That put me on the spot. Because of that, I tried to prove myself.”
Mr. Tanco was able to prove himself once more when he veered away from the textile business, opening new opportunities for his group. Divesting, he said, was the “best business decision” he has made.
“The greatest decision I’ve ever made in my business career was not about investing in new businesses. That’s easy. Divestment is what defined what we have achieved,” he added. “After a while, I divested from textile manufacturing. After spending a lot of time and effort in the industry, it was a good decision to close down and move to another field — from manufacturing to service industry.”
Running a manufacturing business in the country was becoming difficult as hurdles continued to arise. For one, labor and power costs were relatively high and these seemed to get worse at that time. Raw materials needed for the business were sourced outside and were expensive as well, and local consumers had the penchant for imported products, making it more difficult for local manufacturers.
“There was no economic advantage. The raw materials we needed, such as cotton, were not produced locally. Other petrol-based materials such as fiber and filament had to be imported as well,” he said. “The buying mentality of our people also contributed. We produced good products, but when they see that these were manufactured in the Philip-
pines, it was more likely that they wouldn’t want to buy these. Our consumers preferred imported brands.”
But the shift was a timely move for Mr. Tanco. The country had started to move and transform from being a manufacturer to becoming a service provider and he had set his sights on port operations and developments in the services sector.
“That’s when the country started to evolve from a manufacturing- based to a service-based economy,” he said. “We now have BPOs ( business process outsourcing) and OFWs (overseas Filipino workers). I think I was just there at the right time when the country made that shift into becoming a consumer-led economy. I was slightly late in getting out of textile, but on time to make the move into the service industry.”
Today, Mr. Tanco is at the helm of various companies with diverse interests including education, infrastructure, financial services, and energy, among a slew of industries.
Starting in 2007, Mr. Tanco became the president of Asian Terminals, Inc. and since 2010, he has been the chairman of STI Holdings. He is also the chairman of Mactan Electric Company, Rescom Developers, Inc., First Optima Realty Corp., Insurance Builders, Inc., and J& P Coats Manila Bay.
He is also the chairman and/or president of: Philippines First Insurance Co., Inc., Classic Finance, Inc., Venture Securities, Inc., Capital Managers and Advisors, Inc., STMI Logistics, Inc., Total Consolidated Asset Management, Inc., Eujo Philippines, Inc., Global Resource for Outsourced Workers, Inc., and Prime Power Holdings Corp.
“I think I was just there at the right time when the country made that shift into becoming a consumer-led economy. I was slightly late in getting out of textile, but on time to make the move into the
service industry.”