Lucio Tan

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Chua and the surname or paternal family name is Tan.

Lucio C. Tan Sr.
陳永栽
Tan in 2018
Born (1934-07-17) July 17, 1934 (age 90)
Amoy, Fukien, Republic of China[1]
NationalityFilipino
EducationChemical Engineering
Alma materChiang Kai Shek College
Far Eastern University
Occupation(s)Businessman, investor, philanthropist
Known forChairman and CEO (LT Group, Inc.,[2] Philippine Airlines,[3] MacroAsia Corporation)
Spouse(s)Carmen Khao-Tan
(1942—2020)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese陳永栽
Simplified Chinese陈永栽
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinChén Yǒngzāi
Southern Min
Hokkien POJTân Éng-chai

Lucio Chua Tan Sr. (traditional Chinese: 陳永栽; simplified Chinese: 陈永栽; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Éng-chai; pinyin: Chén Yǒngzāi; born July 17, 1934) is a Filipino business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He presides over the Filipino conglomerate company LT Group, Inc., a company with extensive business interests in sports, banking, airline, liquor, tobacco, real estate, beverages, and education. As of 2024, his net worth is estimated at US$2.6 billion.[4]

Early years

[edit]

Tan was born in Amoy (now Xiamen), Fujian, China. His parents moved to Cebu in the Philippines when he was a child. He was said to have gone to school on barefoot and first worked as a stevedore who tied cargo with ropes made from abaca.[5] He earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the Far Eastern University in Manila.[6] Forbes states that while in college, Tan "worked as a janitor at a tobacco factory"[7] where he "mopped floors to pay for school."[8]

Business career

[edit]

In 1966, Lucio Tan co-founded Fortune Tobacco Corporation (FTC), with Benito Tan Kee Hiong, Atty. Florencio N. Santos, and Mariano Tanenglian.

Tan acquired the insolvent General Bank and Trust in 1977 and subsequently renamed it Allied Banking Corporation.[9]

Asia Brewery, Inc. was established by Tan in 1982, with the inauguration of its brewery in Cabuyao, Laguna and the launch of its first brand, Beer Hausen Pale Pilsen. The brewery growth steadily in the following decade, increasing its capacity, expanding and diversifying its product lines.[10][11]

In 1988, Lucio Tan acquired Tanduay Distillers for PHP 1 billion through Twin Ace Holdings Corporation.[12]

In 1992, Tan won the bid that secured the purchase of the newly-privatized Philippine Airlines and became chairman of the airline three years later.[9] Founder Benjamin M. Bitanga of the aviation support services company MacroAsia Corporation sold it to Tan in 1995.

In 2012, Lucio Tan created a conglomerate with estimated total assets of at least $5 billion by consolidating all his holdings in liquor, cigarette, banking, real estate and airlines into a single listed entity, Tanduay Holdings Inc. Tanduay Holdings Inc. was also approved to change its name to LT Group Inc.[13][14]

Philanthropy

[edit]

Though the companies of Lucio Tan Group has been involved in various social responsible programs, Tan has benevolent personal philanthropy works, particularly in the academic sector. Notable of which is his ownership stake with the University of the East, resulting for the erection of the nine-storey Dr. Lucio C. Tan Building on the university's Caloocan City campus. Tan also gave a grant as an endowment for the development of Central Philippine University Institute of HRM and Tourism in Jaro, Iloilo City, which in return, was renamed in his honor as the Dr. Lucio C. Tan College of Hospitality Management, the first college/school in his namesake outside Manila. A building which houses the said college is also named after him on the CPU's main campus, the Lucio C. Tan Building.[15]

In the 1990s, Tan was president of the Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Institute Foundation (LRMFI), an organization established in 1989 and composed of Chinese-Filipino Catholics that aims to spread the Christian faith worldwide.[16]

Controversies

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In the 1990s, Forbes reported about the "considerable corruption still prevalent" in the Philippines, bolstering that claim by citing how Tan "single-handedly held up a tax reform intended to remove special privileges for local tobacco and beer producers."[17] and that Tan was spending his free time "[j]ousting with the government over charges of tax evasion" and with Philippine Airlines "shareholders who tried to block his bid for the airline."[18] However, the 25 billion-peso (US$ 622 million) tax evasion case against Tan was dismissed in March of 1999, after simmering through the terms of presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos.[19]

The Presidential Commission on Good Government ("PCGG") filed a case against Tan in July 1987, claiming that the state is entitled to PHP 50 billion in damages and PHP 1 billion in legal expenses.[citation needed] The PCGG also alleged that the companies that Tan held in trust for the former president Marcos – such as Fortune Tobacco, Asia Brewery, Allied Banking Corporation, Foremost Farms, Himmel Industries, Grandspan Development Corp., Silangan Holdings, Dominium Realty and Construction Corp., and Shareholdings Inc. – were illegally acquired by Marcos using government funds. The state was seeking to recover 60% of Tan's holdings in those companies.[20] The PCGG then seized control of Tan's companies until the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan's decision in 2006 to nullify the writs of sequestration on the companies—the court ruled that the writs had no basis as there was no prima facie proof that any of Tan's assets were obtained illegally. Following the PCGG's appeal, the Supreme Court of the Philippines on 7 December 2007 affirmed the decision of the lower court, having found no proof that Tan, his family, or his various businesses took undue advantage of their relationship with former president Marcos or no factual basis for the sequestration of the stocks.[21] The PCGG announced through court filings on 29 April 2009 that it would be "resting its case" and terminating its PHP 51 billion lawsuit even though the government lawyers had earlier insisted in court that they still had several key witnesses, including former First Lady Imelda Marcos.[22]

In 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte accused Tan of owing the Philippine government around US$600 million in unpaid taxes, but subsequently decided to stop discussing the issue.[23]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Lucio Tan Success Story". Millionaire Acts (Join my journey to financial freedom). March 9, 2009. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "Board of Directors". LT Group, Inc. webpage. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  3. ^ "Company Info, (PAL Holdings Inc.)". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  4. ^ Fung, Gloria (February 26, 2024). "The 10 richest billionaires in the Philippines in 2024 – net worths, ranked: from Cebu Pacific's Lance Gokongwei and Jollibee's Tony Tan Caktiong, to the Sy siblings, Ramon Ang and Manuel Villar". SCMP Style. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  5. ^ Chen, Min (2004). Asian Management Systems: Chinese, Japanese and Korean Styles of Business. Thomson Learning. ISBN 1861529414. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "Lucio Tan (Philippines); Cigarettes, Beer And Airline Tycoon". huayinet.org/biography/biography_luciotan.htm. Internet Wayback Machine. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "ASIA: 50 Asian billionaires on the list, up from 44 last year; Lucio Tan". Forbes. July 5, 1999. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  8. ^ "The Philippines' 50 Richest: #2 - Lucio Tan & Family". Forbes. July 2013. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  9. ^ a b Montejo, Jimmy. "Lucio Tan: From company janitor to tobacco, airline, banking tycoon". Manila Standard. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  10. ^ Asia Brewery, Inc. v. The Hon. Court of Appeals and San Miguel Corporation (Supreme Court of the Philippines July 5, 1993), Text.
  11. ^ Inquirer, Philippine Daily (January 28, 2013). "Asia Brewery to expand throughout Asia". business.inquirer.net.
  12. ^ "Tanduay Distillers, Inc". Tanduay Distillers, Inc. Archived from the original on March 22, 2014.
  13. ^ "Lucio Tan creates $5-B holding firm". Filipino Reporter. No. 3-9 August 2012. 2012.
  14. ^ Dumlao, Doris C. "SEC approves Tanduay Holdings' shift into LT Group Inc". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  15. ^ [Scientia et Fides: the Story of Central Philippine University Volume II by Elma Herradura 2013]. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  16. ^ "Rise of Asia's new missionaries". Manila Standard. Kamahalan Publishing Corp. June 25, 1995. p. 17. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  17. ^ "A report card on Asia". Forbes magazine. February 24, 1997. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  18. ^ Bruce, Katherine; Karmali, Naazneen; Mao, Philippe; Miyazawa, Kazumi; Shook, Carrie; Weinberg, Neil (July 6, 1998). "ASIA; Lucio Tan". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  19. ^ Hookway, James (September 13, 1999). "Philippine Air Tycoon Gets Lift From Old Friend in Highest Office". Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition.
  20. ^ "Graft court admits evidence vs Tan in ill-gotten wealth case | Economy | GMA News Online". Gmanews.tv. August 23, 2010. Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  21. ^ "SC Voids PCGG Sequestration Orders Against Lucio Tan, et al". Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  22. ^ "PCGG to end presentation of evidence in Lucio Tan case". ABS-CBN News. September 5, 1991. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  23. ^ Kate Berbano (July 29, 2020), "Philippine Airline CEO Lucio Tan was once a janitor – he's cleaned up nicely as one of Southeast Asia's biggest billionaires, but still uses an old Nokia phone", South China Morning Post Online, archived from the original on May 27, 2021, retrieved May 27, 2021
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