MANILA, Philippines — Business leader William Co has been designated chairman of this year’s Philippine Business Conference and Expo (PBC & E), the biggest annual gathering of businessmen in the country, slated on Oct. 16 and 17 at the Manila Hotel.
Co, who owns an information and technological school and other chain of businesses ranging from agriculture to technology, is the unanimous choice to chair the 45th edition of the PBC, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Ma. Alegria Sibal Limjoco said.
Co is presently the vice-chairman and board of director for agriculture and fishery at the PCCI. Concurrently, he is the treasurer for the Employers Confederation of the Philippines; an executive committee member of the Export Development Council; one of the trustees for the Philippine Exporters Confederation of the Philippines; honorary consul of the Consulate of the Republic of Namibia and the head of the social development cluster of the Consular Corps of the Philippines.
Aside from his active involvement with export promotion, he was also the former agriculture attaché to the People’s Republic of China. As an active advocate of modern agriculture and mechanized farming, he supports the promotion of hybrid rice and corn, modern fishery and aqua resources, and the promotion of Philippine export of tropical fruits around the world. Co assisted in establishing the Phil-Sino Center for Agricultural Technology (PhilSCAT) in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija. He is also the founder of the Philippine Colleges and Universities China Studies Association.