ALLIANCE GLOBAL GROUP
One of the country’s biggest groups is no doubt the conglomerate founded by Dr. Andrew Tan. It is also one of the fastestgrowing business empires.
But underlying this growth is Tan’s vision to contribute to this country and its people.
Tan’s Philippine Stock Exchangelisted Alliance Global Group Inc. builds condominiums and BPO offices through Megaworld Corp; operates hotels and casinos through Travellers International; runs the McDonald’s fastfood chain in the Philippines through Golden Arches Development Corp.; and owns the world’s biggest brandy company, Emperador Inc.
His success did not happen overnight but was relatively shorter than other taipans who started their businesses after the Second World War.
Still, it was definitely not an easy climb to the ladder of success.
Dr. Tan had a dream of putting up his own liquor brand and it all started one fine day in 1974 when his father, a factory worker, opened a bottle of Fundador – tall, gleaming and imported from Spain.
The taipan, a young man at the time, knew the occasion was very special because a bottle of Fundador was a luxury for the family. His parents were poor immigrants from Fujian, China. Home was a cramped 20-square meter apartment in the maze-like district of Binondo in chaotic downtown Manila.
But for his father, the occasion was worthy enough to celebrate with an expensive bottle of brandy. Tan, after all, had just graduated from the University of the East where he finished Business Administration with honors.
He could not forget that moment and right then and there promised himself that he would make it big in this world, have his own brandy company as big as Fundador, and drink a glass anytime he wanted.
He achieved his dream and because of this vowed that he would be instrumental in letting other Filipinos reach theirs as well.
He enabled Filipinos to have a lifestyle experience that they can enjoy.
This, his eldest son Kevin said, is one of the groups’s contribution to the country.
PHILIPPINE STAR: What does Alliance Global want to see or dream for this nation? ALLIANCE GLOBAL GROUP CEO
KEVIN TAN: Our vision is to uplift society and do our part in nation-building. We do that in our way through our townships. We are now present in 30 cities across the country. We believe that when we come into a city, we can jumpstart a new economy there.
FIRST HOMES
The areas that we went to are sometimes agricultural but when we came in, we created new industries. Tourism is just one example. When we come in, we build the infrastructure, we build sustainable townships, and we also create access to people to buy their first homes. Many people still don’t have homes so every year we add 10,000 to 20,000 homes and we make it reachable to all segments – from high-end to lower markets. LIVE, WORK, PLAY
We are able to provide homes near jobs and we are able to give a lifestyle to Filipinos. They live, work and play in one place they can enjoy.
We pioneered the creation of townships all over the country. These mixed-used spaces combine work, play and home, changing the property development landscape in the Philippines.
In the last 30 years Megaworld has been a pioneer of many, many things. We started actually as a condominium developer. It was a time when Metro Manila was reeling from quite a lot of crises. At the time, condominiums were considered a luxury.
My father’s vision was to create products that are attainable. So we were the first to launch these condos with affordable payment terms and smaller cuts. We revolutionized condo-living in this country. BIGGEST LANDLORD
Today, the Andrew Tan Group is the country’s biggest office landlord and continues to grow its office footprint and the rest of the business as well.
Last year, the property giant grew its net income by 17 percent to P15.2 billion from P13 billion a year ago as the company’s rental business remained strong.
Indeed, part of Dr. Tan’s vision was to enable people to live where they work and live where everything is just within reach.
Thus, over the last 30 years, the Megaworld Group has expanded its township developments across the Philippines. The company now has 24 townships across the country and hopes to bring this to 30 in the next few years.
LEARNING AND ARTS True to the vision of Dr. Tan, these townships are designed to highlight venues that are conducive to learning and creating artistic outputs.
Indeed, Megaworld townships provide a lifestyle and champion Filipino arts and culture not only in Metro Manila but also in the entire country.
This started with one man’s vision to dream -- first for himself and second, for his country.