A salute to Filipino-Chinese ties

Celebrating its 20th anniversary at the grand ballroom of the Peninsula Manila Hotel recently was the Association of Young Filipino-Chinese Entrepreneurs (AYFCE).  With the new name, the former Anvil Business Club marked two decades of Filipino-Chinese entrepreneurship with President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III as keynote speaker and new Chinese ambassador Ma Keqing as special guest and also inspirational speaker.  In his speech, President Aquino acknowledged the contributions of Filipino-Chinese businessmen in the Philippine economy. Yes, the name has changed but the primary mission of corporate dynamism — promoting Confucian and positive Filipino values with business principles to generate more investments, jobs and social improvement. AYFCE chairman emeritus George Siy together with chairman Jeffrey Ng and president Roy Chua welcomed prominent guests: Trade and Industry secretary Greg Domingo, Senator Ping Lacson, Energy secretary Rene Almendras, Presidential Political Affairs Adviser Ronald Llamas, former congresswoman Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, Communications undersecretary George Syliangco, Pag-ibig chief executive officer, lawyer Darlene Berberabe, business magnates Lucio Tan and ambassador John Ng, and Zest Air president and chief executive officer Alfredo Yao, among others. Congratulations to the AYFCE and the next generation of entrepreneurs!