PNB looks beyond Metro Manila, urges Luzon traders to use technology to grow, spread progress

The chief of the country’s fifth largest financial institution is asking companies from northern and central Luzon to fully embrace technology to become more competitive while stimulating the economies of areas outside Metro Manila.

To this end, the Lucio Tan-owned bank gathered over 100 businessmen and entrepreneurs from the country’s northern provinces at the Clark Marriot Hotel for the “2019 Transforum: Connecting You Forward” in a first-of-its-kind forum.

PNB president and CEO Wick Veloso said the bank held the innovation gathering as it supported building a more robust economic landscape for the region.

“We are bringing groups of knowledge experts together with businesses who have successfully deployed new technologies,” he said. “We want to show business owners the latest trends in innovation as many of them gear up their businesses for the next level.”

Luzon is a major contributor to the economy as it is the base of many businesses. The region combines the advantages of having agricultural and industrial zones, tourism and retail areas, an international airport, a seaport, support services, and major highways. These make the region an ideal investment and residential destination.

“We see growth in many regions and we aim to drive local economies in the countryside to help sustain the country’s economy as a whole,” Veloso said, adding that PNB’s strategy was focused on pursuing safe, aggressive growth in various areas of business.

“PNB wants to be at the forefront of innovation and business,” he said. “As a financial and growth partner of Filipinos, we want to help guide business owners on how they can make automation work for them.”

Participants of the Transforum came from growth sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, retail/wholesale, distribution and construction. They learned valuable insights from a roster of top-notch keynote speakers with expertise in the fields of digital payments, supply chain management, and electronic learning.

The audience received insights from Antonieta Arceo, chief of the Information Services Division of the Agricultural Training Institute, the training arm of the Department of Agriculture. In partnership with a leading telecommunications firm, Arceo has pioneered a technology-based program that applies e-learning for farmers and fisherfolk.

Apart from Arceo’s digital inclusion initiatives, participants also learned about digital payments from Cathlyn Dolor Pavia, head of the VisMin Enterprise Group of Mynt, the creators of GCash. Unido Holdings Group chief financial officer Francis Reyes shared the success story of Landers Superstores and how technology played a vital role in their supply chain management.

Edited by TSB