Filinvest Group honored for good corporate governance at Golden Arrow Awards

MANILA, Philippines — Filinvest Development Corporation (FDC), one of the country’s largest and most diversified conglomerates, and its subsidiaries were recently recognized for their exemplary adherence to regional corporate governance practices at the Institute of Corporate Directors’ (ICD) annual ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS) Golden Arrow Awards.

At the ACGS Golden Arrow Awards Night in Parañaque City recently, holding company FDC was honored with two Golden Arrow Awards, while full-range property developer Filinvest Land Inc.; Filinvest REIT Corp. (FILRT), the real estate investment trust (REIT) of the Filinvest Group; and East West Banking Corp. (EastWest), the banking arm of the Filinvest Group, were honored with one Golden Arrow each.

“The recognition earned by various units of the Filinvest Group at the ACGS Golden Arrow Awards is a testament to our unwavering and collective commitment to corporate governance excellence. We believe that transparency, accountability and ethical conduct are fundamental to building trust with our stakeholders as we gear up for sustainable growth in the years to come,” FDC president and CEO Chiqui Huang said.

To drive the conglomerate’s dynamic growth story, FDC recently onboarded two new executives: Huang, who joined in July 2023, and Ysmael Baysa, who joined in June 2023 as COO. Both were seasoned leaders in their respective industries.

Filinvest Land, on the other hand, is sustaining its bullish business stance as it accelerates the development of its green medium-rise building developments that promote Health and Life Tech, new mixed-use townships, even vast industrial parks that will offer ready-built factory leasing.

FILRT is focused on increasing office occupancy while embarking on a journey toward becoming an Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) Champion, as six of its properties in Northgate Cyberzone, Filinvest City (a center of productivity in the Metro South) were formally recognized as EDGE-certified by the International Finance Corp. (a member of the World Bank Group) for their outstanding commitment to sustainability.

Meanwhile, with the positive coming from the past year, EastWest looks forward to a bright future as it continues to innovate its products and services to give customers an easier banking experience.

Especially as part of a highly regulated industry, EastWest remains resolute in its mission to continually raise the bar in corporate governance and to drive unparalleled value for its shareholders, clients, and the broader community.

The ACGS, the basis of the Golden Arrow Awards, measures companies' performance in facilitating rights and equitable treatment of shareholders; how they relate to different stakeholders, ensuring transparency and accountability through timely disclosure of material information; and how the board guides the company strategically, monitors the management, and ensures the board’s accountability to the company and its shareholders.

The ACGS is composed of 184 questions based on publicly available disclosures. It aims to raise the corporate governance standards and practices of the Philippines, and to make well-governed Philippine publicly listed companies attractive to investors.