BIZ BUZZ: Cheapest presidential elections
One constant topic in the local business gossip mill is which taipan or tycoon supports which presidential candidate.
Well, Biz Buzz will save the reader the trouble of guessing by laying down the obvious truth that the country’s wealthiest businessmen, as a general rule, contribute to every major presidential candidate’s campaign kitty.
The difference, of course, is how much they give each one, that is almost always determined exclusively by their rankings in the periodic surveys. Well, word on the street is that the 2022 elections are turning out to be the cheapest ever for Filipino business titans.
Presidential candidates Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Senator Panfilo Lacson are believed to have prepared a decent amount of resources before their campaign period, but contributions from supporters were “pro rated” to their subsequent survey results.
Candidate Senator Manny Pacquiao, on the other hand, is believed to be using a lot of his own money for his presidential run on top of a few campaign donations.
Vice President Leni Robredo, meanwhile, is running a volunteers’ campaign that has shied away from approaching the usual donors for large amounts of financial support. Oh several tycoons did give to her, but this was tempered by the knowledge that her brand of governance would not gain them any serious advantage if she won anyway (so why give a lot if returns are limited?).
That brings us to front-runner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Word on the street is that his camp hasn’t sought donations from the tycoons in a major way, leaving many of the big businessmen scratching their heads.
In fact, one businessman is said to have prepared a substantial donation to give the Marcos camp as they were expected to come knocking early in the campaign period. To this day, they never did. Whoa.
—Daxim L. Lucas
BDO moving forward
BDO Unibank Inc.’s iconic tagline “we find ways” has certainly captured its rise to becoming the country’s top lender as it meets customers’ needs while continuously growing its business.
It’s no surprise the controlling Sy family has found ways to also retain top talent.
BDO disclosed this week its president and CEO Nestor Tan would thus be extended by another six years to March 1, 2028.
By the end of that period, Tan would have served as BDO’s top executive for a total of three decades.
Tan oversaw a period of major expansion and even recent tumult, when the COVID-19 pandemic threatened the stability of businesses around the country. Under his leadership, BDO said profits had expanded to near prepandemic levels last year.
In fact, BDO is preparing for the next phase of its expansion. Its board is pursing a 50 percent capital increase to position the lender for new opportunities and even possible acquisitions.
Not all top talent could be retained. BDO veteran Walter Wassmer, senior executive vice president and head of the prized institutional baking segment, would be retiring effective April 21.
No reason was provided but word on the street is he might soon join the public sector as part of the team of a presidential candidate in the 2022 elections. Abangan!
—Miguel R. Camus
Democratizing investing
Seedbox Technologies Inc., a pioneer in local digital sachet investing, has been silently transforming the investing space since its launch in 2016. The digital wealth management platform now serves more than 1 million active users—exceeding the number of online stock trading accounts in the country (numbering 936,200).
Seedbox is a partnership between leading independent asset management firm ATRAM Group and Indonesian tech firm Indivara. Rex Mendoza, founder and CEO of Rampver Financials, the biggest independent mutual fund distributor in the Philippines, is also an investor and director.
The platform has collaborated with GCash to empower people to invest in funds for as low as P50 (ergo, a “sachet” that doesn’t need plastic). It has also digitized the Personal Equity Retirement Account scheme, the country’s voluntary pension system, which doubled after a year since the introduction of the platform.
Now, Seedbox is ready to take its game-changing business to a new level with $6 million (P313 million) in fresh equity brought in by new investors SBI Ventures Singapore and Philippine Equity Partners Inc. (PEP).
SBI Ventures is part of SBI Holdings group, a diversified financial services group headquartered in Japan, which has been investing in “next generation” industries and incubating startups in the region. On the other hand, PEP is a leading local stock brokerage firm consistently ranked among the largest in turnover among local houses.
“Seedbox has built an impressive ecosystem of product providers and online distribution channels over the years. We are excited to participate in the growth of the market for investment products in the Philippines,” SBI Holdings chief representative Yujin Otsuka and PEP managing director Lorenzo Roxas said.
With this new money, Seedbox is seen to continue its rapid growth and scale its operations by upgrading its tech platform, enhancing its product suite and expanding its team.
