Henry Sy: APPLIED ECONOMICS (Additional Activity)

APPLIED ECONOMICS (Additional Activity)
Henry Sy
Henry Tan Chi Sieng Sy Sr. was a Chinese Filipino business magnate, investor, and
philanthropist known for his involvement in the Philippines' retail industry. Born in Fujian, he
moved with his family to the Philippines at age 12. While his family returned to China, he stayed
behind and founded Shoe Mart, a small Manila shoe store, in 1958. Over the decades he
developed Shoe Mart into SM Investments, one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines,
including 77 SM malls in the Philippines and China, 62 department stores, 56 supermarkets and
over 200 grocery stores. SM also owns Banco de Oro, the second-largest bank in the Philippines,
as well as real estate holdings. For eleven straight years until his death, Sy was named
by Forbes as the richest person in the Philippines. His estimated net worth amounted to US$19
billion, making him the 53rd-richest person in the world.
Henry Sy, also known as Sy Chi Sieng in was born in Amoy (modern-day Xiamen)
in Fujian, then still under the Republic of China (ROC), on December 25, 1924. At age 12, he
and his family moved to the Philippines during the Commonwealth Era under American colonial
period, where his father set up a shop that sold various household items. At his father's store, Sy
helped his father sell rice, sardines and other items. Following World War II, the store got
obliterated along with the rest of Manila.[4] His family decided to return to China, but Sy stayed in
the Philippines where he completed his secondary education at an institution now known as
the Chiang Kai Shek College in Tondo, Manila and earned his Associate of Arts degree in
commercial studies at Far Eastern University in 1950. While studying in school, he also learned
how to speak in English and Filipino(Tagalog). In his twenties, Henry Sy became a store
manager working for an American business involved in the local shoe industry in the
Philippines; he opened his first sole-proprietorship store in Quiapo, Manila in 1948.[3] He opened
at least three shoe stores in the Carriedo area which was then known for its heavy pedestrian
traffic. His decision to sell shoes was due to the losses his family experienced in World War II
thinking that everyone would need shoes following the aftermath of the war. He sold surplus G.I.
boots and saved finances before he established ShoeMart in 1958, his own small shoe store in
Quiapo, that marked the beginning of SM Prime. He later encountered difficulties in sourcing
shoes locally and decided to import shoes from outside the country. Sy became involved in the
banking industry when he acquired Acme Savings Bank (later renamed Banco de Oro or BDO)
in 1967. In November 1972, he opened SM Quiapo, SM's first stand alone department store, and
entrusted his 22-year-old daughter Teresita to run the store. On November 8, 1985, he
established his first SM Supermall, SM City North EDSA. In the early 1990s, SM started
opening more shopping malls with the setting up of two malls in Metro Manila and a solitary
mall in Cebu City. SM Prime Holdings was incorporated in 1994 and went public.
Sy was named "Richest Man of the Year" by the Makati Business Club in 1999 and was
conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Business Management by De La Salle University in January
of that year. He and his wife established the SM Foundation Inc., which helps underprivileged
youths, the disabled and the elderly.[10] He established business presence in Mainland China when
the SM Group opened its first shopping mall in his native Xiamen. Other malls were later set up
in other parts of Southern China. In August 2005, Sy's stake in the San Miguel Corporation,
Southeast Asia's largest food and beverage conglomerate, reached 11%.He sold that stake in
October 2007 for $680 million. Sy's holding company, SM Investments (also known as SM
Group), has been frequently named as one of the best managed companies in the Philippines. SM
APPLIED ECONOMICS (Additional Activity)
Investments is the operator of Banco de Oro (BDO) and owner of Chinabank. In 2006, Sy bought
the remaining 66% of Equitable PCI Bank, the Philippines' third largest lender, and merged it
into BDO the following year. The transaction turned BDO into the second largest financial
company in the country.
He was the Philippines' richest man, gaining $5 billion in 2010, amid the global financial
crisis. The huge gain was due to his holding company, SM Investments, which has interests in
BDO, inter alia. For 11 straight years until his death in 2019, Forbes ranked him as the richest
person in the Philippines, with an estimated net worth of US$19 billion in 2019. In 2017, Sy
stepped down as chairman of SM Investments Corporation and was given the honorary title of
Chairman Emeritus as recognition for being the founder of the SM Group. Jose Sio succeeded Sy
as chairman.

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