Envoy taps Pinoy talents in jewelry design

Philippine Ambassador to Laos businessman Antonio L. Cabangon-Chua is tapping Filipino talents in jewelry design that would fashion export items from out of Laos’ principal products of semi-precious stones.

In this way, Cabangon-Chua said, the country can earn precious foreign exchange receipts while at the same time harnessing local jewelry designers from Meycauayan, Bulacan and other places.

Cabangon-Chua said this is what he has set out to do as he left for his posting in Laos where he vowed to improve two-way trade and cultural ties.

The Philippine envoy carved out the ALC group of companies which is into memorial parks (Eternal Gardens), cinema houses, printing and publishing, radio broadcasting, car dealership (Isuzu Gencars), security and detective agencies, restaurants, banking (Citystate Savings Bank), stock brokerage (AAA Southeast Asia Equity), and property development (ALC Realty), from a start-up in the jewelry business.

"I know the jewelry industry where I started and this is one area where there can be local value added," Cabangon-Chua said, adding this is what he believes he can contribute to the country.

Cabangon-Chua’s mindset to increase two-way trade between the Philippines and Laos which is now almost nil, is an objective he has set out to accomplish.

This is why he opted to celebrate his birthday today (Aug. 31) in Laos as he believes that Filipino jewelry designers are at par with the world’s best.

Cabangon-Chua brings to Laos impeccable credentials as a successful entrepreneur.

As a young boy, Chua, whose father died during the war, worked odd jobs – as a bootblack and newsboy – to eke out a living with his mother in whose honor he named the conglomerate’s head office in Makati, the Dominga Building. Known for his civic consciousness and help for the poor, Chua was accorded a Doctor of Humanities degree by the Adamson University.