BIZ BUZZ: EEI changing of the guard

The Yuchengco Group, chaired by businesswoman and heiress Helen Yuchegco Dee, is overseeing a change in leadership at construction arm EEI Corp.

Longtime CEO Robert Castillo is set to retire from the top management post after 17 years, during which he turned the contractor into one of the country’s largest construction firms. He will remain a director of EEI.

Taking his place is Henry Antonio, the former senior executive at the family-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) who joined EEI as chief operating officer two years ago.

The changes are being made as EEI, a major contractor in the Philippines and overseas, notably through a partnership with the Al-Rushaid Construction Group in Saudi Arabia, turns 92 years old.

Before RCBC, Antonio was head of advisory for KPMG. He earned a degree in accountancy from the University of San Diego.

In a statement, he pledged to grow EEI further.

“We will grow bigger and when we do, we will bring all our stakeholders with us,” he said.

—Miguel R. Camus

Prudential Guarantee, Swiss RE renew ties

Prudential Guarantee Assurance Inc. (PGAI), which kept its title as the Philippines’ largest nonlife insurance company, is bent on keeping its stranglehold on the top rank with the strengthening of its ties with giant global reinsurer Swiss Re.

Top executives of both companies, led by PGAI chair Robert Coyiuto Jr. and Swiss Re head for P&C Reinsurance Asia Pacific Victor Kuk, met recently to go over plans and celebrate their partnership of 40 years that is expected to help PGAI maintain its lead in the nonlife insurance market.

Discussed were new platforms and tools for underwriting and risk management that will improve the evaluation of risks involved in engineering and construction projects as well as better assess property coverage for climate-related disasters.

Partners since 1982, PGAI and Swiss Re have created a large pool of insurance data that benefit analytics, claims management and underwriting capabilities. Further synergies being explored will allow the two firms to take advantage of emerging opportunities.

PGAI has been leading the domestic nonlife insurance sector for four decades and last year recorded P5.73 billion worth of net premiums written. —Tina Arceo-Dumlao

DITO wants extension, too

DITO Telecommunity has joined the calls by telco giants Globe Telecom and Smart Communications to extend the April 26 deadline for the mandatory SIM (subscriber identity module) cards by another 120 days. Such a move is allowed according to the law, if needed.

“Considering that more than 50 percent of nationwide subscribers of all telcos have yet to register, disallowing the extension may result in disenfranchisement of subscribers that may prove detrimental to the current government initiative,” the third telco player said on Thursday.

The telco players asked the government for an extension to give mobile users more time to secure the ID required for the registration.

As of April 11, the government reported that 66.22 million SIM cards have already been registered. The bulk of these were Smart users with 32.93 million SIM cards, followed by Globe at 28.33 million and DITO at 4.95 million.

These are only 39.41 percent of the total 168 million SIM cards.

Now the question is: Will the government heed the requests of the telco players? Let’s see!

—Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Magsaysay Ho joins Angsana Council

Prominent executive and philanthropist Doris Magsaysay Ho, chair and CEO of A. Magsaysay, Inc., has added another feather in her already full cap with her appointment to Angsana Council, the first Filipino to do so.

With her in the council are Charles Ormiston (Bain & Co.’s Southeast Asia founding partner), Peng Ong (Monk’s Hill Ventures co-founder and managing partner), Gita Wirjawan (former Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia; educator and entrepreneur) and George Yeo (former Singapore Cabinet Minister; visiting scholar at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and National University of Singapore).

Founded in 2022, the Angsana Council is a nonprofit group that is committed to increasing the growth and prosperity of Southeast Asian businesses and economies.

The Angsana Council is led by members with a track record in accelerating economic and societal change in Southeast Asia.

Magsaysay Ho was cited for her “significant contributions to the growth story of the Philippines.” INQ

—Tina Arceo-Dumlao