Insight from Davos newbie

TYCOONS Kevin Tan with Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Sabin Aboitiz, Enrique Razon Jr. and Lance Gokongwei —Kevin Tan’s Instagram

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND—Kevin Tan, CEO of Alliance Global Inc., which has operations in the United Kingdom, Spain and Mexico, is part of President Marcos’ delegation to the World Economic Forum annual meeting. He shares his key takeaways as a first-time Davos participant:

“I think this is a good chance for us to showcase the growth story of the Philippines as a country.

“I believe President Marcos has been very effective in showcasing the Philippines’ strength [and] that this government is open for business and partnerships with other governments, as well as with partnerships with [the] private sector, and that we are here trying to bring in foreign investments.

“On a political front, my view is that the President has shown that the Philippines really is a friend to all and we’re not necessarily leaning more towards the West or the East; that we’re very, very balanced… And I think that’s the right strategy because our location as a country is so strategic. We are right in the middle of Asia and we are [at a] four-hour flight distance to 70 percent of Asia, so that puts [us] in a very good, very important, very strong position for tourism, logistics, manufacturing.

“Our President is a firm believer in globalization… I think that his belief can be made known to a large audience and that I think will give the Philippines a lot of credibility in the global community.”