FOUNDER, BANKER, CHAIRMAN, PHILANTHROPIST, AMBASSADOR
ALFONSO T. YUCHENGCO

Founder and Chairman of the Yuchengco Group of Companies (YGC), Alfonso T. Yuchengco, fondly called “AY” in business circles, is acknowledged as one of the Philippines’ most successful taipans.

On top of his numerous achievements in business, he also has had a distinguished career in government service. He has served as ambassador to China and to Japan and as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He has also been a trusted adviser to several Filipino presidents, and currently serves as Presidential Adviser for Foreign Affairs with a cabinet rank under the Arroyo administration.

Through his philanthropic organization, the AY Foundation, Yuchengco complements his business success with humanitarian service through meaningful, long-term civic projects. As he states in his homespun philosophy, “A million, a hundred million, even a billion can be lost in a day. But a good name is forever. And so, for me, a good name is much more important."

Family history

AY traces his family roots to the Yuchengcos of Fookien, a thriving merchant family. The family’s original surname was Yu, and the first of the clan to come to Manila in the late 19th century was named Yu Tiaoqui. He was always introduced as Yu Tiaoqui, until everyone assumed that Tiaoqui was his surname. He married a Filipina who became Mrs. Tiaoqui – beginning the name of the clan still prevalent in banking and business.

Yu Tiaoqui left behind a family in Fookien. Upon his death, his Chinese son came to Manila using the name Yu Chengco. This son, still in his 20s, adopted the name Enrique - Enrique Tiaoqui Yuchengco.

Enrique married Maria Hao Tay, also from Fujian. His son Alfonso was the only surviving male child. His godfather was Chief Justice Antonio Villareal of the Supreme Court, which indicated Don Enrique’s standing as a growing taipan.

In 1930, Don Enrique established the China Insurance and Surety Company, precursor of the Malayan Insurance Company. With his honorable way of doing business, he was able to build his reputation and hasten the growth of his companies.

Young Alfonso spent his early academic years between home and school, first at the Binondo primary, then to the Colegio De La Salle. He first became known on the La Salle campus as the “bright new boy in Grade Five” – so bright he was accelerated pronto to Grade Seven. Up to this senior year in high school he was always one of the top five in his class.

The Yuchengcos suffered at the hands of the Japanese during the three-and-a-half years of occupation of the Philippines. China Insurance Company was ordered to be liquidated. Young Alfonso took to buying and selling soap to augment the family income. Then, during the Liberation of Manila, the family house, stores and offices were razed to the ground. But Don Enrique consoled his family, telling them not to despair and that, with God’s help, they will rebuild from the ashes what they had lost.

After passing the CPA exams, young Alfonso took up his Master’s degree in Business Administration at Columbia University in the U.S. When he came back home, he revived with his father, the family’s insurance business, under the name Malayan Insurance Company, courtesy of Ambassador Yuchengco, who argued that since they were Filipinos, it meant that they belonged to the Malay race, of which they should be proud. Don Enrique passed away in 1953 just as Malayan Insurance Company was beginning to hit its stride as a leading exponent of non-life insurance.

Business Success

One of the keys to Ambassador Yuchengco’s early success in business was his ability to make friends and interact productively with his business colleagues. He became President of Manila Jaycees in 1956 and led a delegation to Tokyo, Japan. He also traveled widely in the United States, Europe and Asia, establishing close ties with many foreign corporations. Associates like to point out that his openness to setting up joint ventures, especially with foreign partners, has been one of his most important assets.

His business career in the 1950s and 1960s was characterized by rapid expansion and diversification. Life insurance was also proving at the time to be the most profitable insurance business in the Philippines. Ambassador Yuchengco entered the life insurance business by forming a new company, Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp. or Grepalife.

Malayan proceeded to develop foreign connections abroad on the best possible terms for itself and the insurance industry. It went on to become the largest non-life insurance company in Southeast Asia and a leading reinsurer to smaller companies in the Philippines.

Another linchpin of the soon-to-be Yuchengco conglomerate would be formed in 1960, initially named First Rizal Development Bank and then, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation.

To-date, the Yuchengco Group of Companies is a 60-company conglomerate with investments ranging from banking to insurance, automotive vehicles to travel and tourism, construction and engineering to information technology. The YGC has P284 billion in total assets and a total equity of P38 billion (based on 2006 audited figures) – making it one of Southeast Asia’s largest and most diversified conglomerates.

The YGC corporate logo represents integrated financial services, and is equally symbolic of how the member-companies within the Group complement one another’s efforts to promote economic growth. Despite its diversity, the group has remained a solid, well-directed team, deriving its best strength in its synergy.