September 2011 | President Aquino and Willie Tan Discuss Luen Thai Holdings' Business Expansion in the Philippines

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has met with Luen Thai Holdings (LTH) non-executive director Willie Tan during the former's 5-day state visit to China from August 30 to September 3, 2011. The two discussed Luen Thai Holdings' business investment in the Philippines, such as the recently established Coach luxury bags production facility in Tarlac as well as further expansion of its Cebu and Clark facilities. Mr. Tan also disclosed that LTH is planning to build an apparel and textile mill in Bataan.

LTH, including its subsidiaries, is one of the leading apparel and accessories manufacturing and supply chain services providers in the world. Headquartered in Hong Kong, LTH has production and outsourcing partner facilities in China, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh. While maintaining the current production capacities in Mainland China, the company has expanded its Philippine operations as part of its plans to remain competitive.

Aside from the Presidential meeting, Mr. Tan also attended the Beijing and Shanghai business conferences of the state visit and in which he gave a well-received testimonial speech on the benefits of doing business in the Philippines. He cited excellent governance, existing investment support systems such as Board of Investments (BOI), Philippine Economic Zone Administration (PEZA) and Special Zones such as Clark, Subic and other locations. He also noted stable currency and minimum wage and praised the anti-corruption agenda of the Aquino administration. Furthermore, Mr. Tan highlighted the cultural affinity between Chinese and Filipinos owing to the huge Filipino-Chinese population in the Philippines. The country also boasts of management professionals and availability of highly skilled workers.

In addition to Mr. Tan, who spoke on behalf of both LTH and Luen Thai Private Group, executives from the Philippines' biggest business sectors also delivered their own remarks. They included SM Investments Corp.'s Teresita Sy Coson; JG Summit Holdings' Lance Gokongwei and Metrobank's George Ty.

More than 200 Filipino businessmen accompanied President Aquino in a historical show of force and unity. The group included the movers and shakers of the Philippine business sector-- Banco de Oro, Jollibee Foods Corp., San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Lucio C. Tan Group of Companies, Liwayway Corporation and Alliance Global Group to name a few.  From China's side, more than 300  executives representing various industries and companies attended the event including Huawei Group, State Grid Corporation of China,  China Three Gorges Corporation, Hainan Airlines, Vantone, China State Construction Corporation, China International Water and Electric Corporation, Shanghai Chamber of International Commerce, Shanghai Tourism Bureau International Division, Suzhou Tourism Bureau, Zhejiang Federation of Industry and Commerce, Zhejiang Department of Commerce Asia Division, Jiangsu Construction Group.