Alfonso T. Yuchengco, 94

Pic of RCBC honorary chair Alfonso Yuchengco taken from RCBC’s annual report

Banking and insurance tycoon Alfonso T. Yuchengco, founder of the Yuchengco group of companies (YGC) and a former Ambassador, passed away at the age of 94.

Aside from leading the YGC group, Yuchengco was formerly Philippine permanent representative to the United Nations. He likewise served as Philippine ambassador to the People’s Republic of China (1986 to 1988) and Japan (1995 to 1998). He received the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun from the emperor of Japan and the Order of Sikatuna, with the rank of Datu, from the Philippine government after completing his mission as envoy to Japan.

The YGC group of companies includes Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), Great Life Financial Assurance Corp., construction firm EEI Corp. and House of Investments, among others.

“Our bank is mourning the untimely demise of our chairman emeritus, Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco who passed away last Saturday April 15, 2017,” RCBC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday.

RCBC vice chair and former Prime Minister Cesar Virata said in a text message that the wake for Yuchengco would start tomorrow (April 18) at the Sanctuario de San Antonio Parish in Forbes Park.

He received the Management Man of the Year from the Management Association of the Philippines in 1992 and was inducted into the International Insurance Society Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2008, he was awarded the first Global Humanitarian Insurance Award by the University of Alabama for his contributions to uplifting humanity and practicing exceptional business ethics while advancing the principles and application of insurance and financial services.

A Certified Public Accountant, Yuchengco graduated from Far Eastern University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce and completed his graduate studies at Columbia University, New York, USA in 1950. He holds several Honorary Doctorate Degrees from universities in the Philippines, Japan and the United States. He holds MBA from Ramon V. del Rosario Sr. Graduate School of Business.