First order of business while in Cosmo Manille was a courtesy call by Gary C. on President Gloria Arroyo and First Gentleman Mike A. at Malacañang. In the 20-minute session, Gary C. provided ideas on how the Philippines could improve investor perception in comparison with other Asian nations.
The next evening, the new joint venture was introduced to local clients in a tres elegant dinner at the residence of magnum business heavy weight Luis "Bubuy" Virata and upper society lady Lilibeth Cu Unjieng V.
Judging from the well-attended inauguration, with nearly 100 of Cosmo Manilles hottest mega-business personas, the venture can look forward to a promising future. CLSA, a 65 percent-owned subsidiary of Frances Credit Lyonnais, first opened its doors in Hong Kong in 1986, as the specialist vehicle for Asian-related services of Credit Lyonnais. Asian operations today involve 12 seats on the stock exchange and sales and research staff across 14 major Asian financial centers.