Yuchengco steps down

Diplomat, businessman and philanthropist Amb. Alfonso T. Yuchengco has retired as chairman of the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC) and all other posts he holds in the group.

His oldest daughter, Helen Y. Dee, will reportedly take over all posts by the end of this month.

The 83-year-old Yuchengco is acknowledged as one of the country’s most successful taipans, having propelled the growth of YGC from its humble operations as a small insurance firm, China Insurance & Surety Co. Inc. (now Malayan Insurance Co. Inc.) along Gandara street in Binondo, into one of the Philippines’ largest business conglomerates.

YGC has over 40 member-firms, each a major industry player. It has four flagship companies, namely: Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), Malayan Group of Insurance Companies, Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp. (Grepalife) and House of Investments Inc. (HI). It has also invested in Mapua Institute of Technology and EEI Corp.

Yuchengco was instrumental in turning RCBC from a private development bank in 1960 into one of the country’s largest universal banks today, with consolidated assets of nearly P200 billion. He also established a formidable presence in the insurance business for over 75 years, making non-life insurer Malayan Insurance the undisputed leader in the industry today.

However, Yuchengco, a certified public accountant and a former accounting professor, will still keep office at RCBC Plaza.

He has served as ambassador to China and to Japan and as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations.