BIZ BUZZ: Vietnam calling for Aboitiz

Looks like the Aboitiz Group is betting that its next growth story may come from across the West Philippine Sea.

During Vietnamese President To Lam’s state visit to Manila, top Aboitiz executives sat down with the visiting leader to discuss expanding cooperation in energy, food security and infrastructure—three sectors where the conglomerate already has a foothold in Vietnam.

The meeting offered a glimpse of where Aboitiz sees future opportunities. Through its food unit, the group has been operating in Vietnam since 2014 and recently strengthened its presence with a $45-million feed mill in Long An Province capable of producing 300,000 metric tons of animal feed annually.

Energy may be the bigger prize. AboitizPower Corp. recently entered Vietnam’s power sector through a planned 25-percent stake in Van Phong Power Company, owner of a 1,320-megawatt coal-fired power plant. The investment is still awaiting regulatory approval, but executives made it clear they are eyeing more opportunities in coal, gas and renewable energy as Vietnam’s electricity demand continues to rise.

Meanwhile, Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc. is working on expanding air links between Cebu and major Vietnamese cities through Mactan-Cebu International Airport, hoping to boost tourism flows in both directions.

The takeaway? While many Philippine conglomerates are still largely focused on their home turf, Aboitiz appears increasingly willing to look abroad for its next chapter—starting with one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies. —Emmanuel John B. Abris

Naia operator taps Incheon veteran

There’s a new chief tasked with steering the overhaul of the country’s busiest airport.

New Naia Infra Corp. (NNIC) has appointed Jong-hoon “John” Kim as chief operating officer, putting the veteran airport executive in charge of day-to-day operations at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) as its modernization enters its third year.

NNIC, a consortium led by San Miguel Corp. and Incheon International Airport Corp., took over the management and operations of Naia in 2024 and committed to invest P170 billion in upgrading the country’s main air gateway.

Before joining NNIC, Kim spent nearly three decades at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, where he held roles spanning airport security, operational readiness, cargo operations and logistics.

Most recently, he served as director of airport security management, overseeing projects involving biometric access controls, artificial intelligence-assisted surveillance systems and airport security programs.

Kim also previously served as director of operations and facilities management at Kuwait Airport Terminal 4 and worked as an operational readiness consultant for Erbil International Airport in Iraq.

At NNIC, he will oversee efforts to improve passenger flow, security, cargo operations, facilities management and airport systems. He succeeds Ok-chul “Paul” Shin, who the company said had been assigned to a new role.

NNIC has also brought in Kim Han-joon, another Incheon veteran, to support civil aviation compliance and mandatory infrastructure works.

With a vision of delivering what it calls Naia’s “largest modernization effort in decades,” NNIC is betting that seasoned airport operators can help keep the long-promised transformation on track. —Logan Kal-El M. Zapanta

Can Injap deliver by 2035?

There’s no shortage of bold promises in the stock market. But when share prices are tumbling and investors are nursing losses, few executives are willing to publicly ask shareholders to keep the faith for another nine years.

That’s exactly what happened this week.

In a message addressed to shareholders, MerryMart Consumer Corp. founder Edgar “Injap” Sia II acknowledged the “almost unprecedented” decline in Philippine stock prices, saying even blue-chip companies have not been spared. He added that the “silver lining is not yet clear on the horizons” amid ongoing economic uncertainty.

Against that backdrop, Sia pitched DoubleDragon Corp.’s ongoing tender offer for MerryMart shares—internally dubbed “Project Solidify”—as an opportunity for investors to exchange their holdings and remain part of the broader DoubleDragon ecosystem.

The offer includes a mix of cash and shares, with DoubleDragon stock valued at P9.30 per share for the transaction.

What raised eyebrows, however, was not the tender offer itself alone but the ambitious roadmap attached to it.

Sia said he would consider it an “extraordinary Filipino entrepreneurial success” if the group achieves its 2035 targets, which include surpassing P500 billion in annual revenues, generating over P50 billion in net income, becoming debt-free, paying more than P12 billion in annual dividends and expanding Hotel101 to 100 countries.

For some investors, that vision may sound inspiring. For skeptics, it may seem like a very long wait for validation.

Still, in a market hungry for certainty, Sia is asking shareholders to buy into something rarer: a decadelong promise. Whether investors see conviction or optimism may ultimately determine how many choose to join that journey to 2035. —Emmanuel John B. Abris INQ