SIX Philippine companies will compete with other businesses in other Southeast Asian countries for the Asean Business Awards (ABA 2014) to be held in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on November 14.
The country will be represented by the winners of the recently concluded Asean Business Awards Philippines, the first of such awards for the Philippines namely International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), Pointwest Technologies Corp. and Golden ABC Inc. in the large-scale category, while Fountainhead Technologies Inc., Community Health Education Emergency Rescue Services or CHEERS Corp and VCargo Worldwide/Vintel Logistics Inc. will compete for the small-and-medium enterprise category.
Top executives of the six Philippine winners held a discussion, followed by a send-off news conference with the Asean Business Advisory Council Philippines led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Teresita Sy-Coson of SM Investments Corp. at the New World Makati Hotel on Wednesday. Sy-Coson said one of the benefits of ABA is to get the companies get known or recognized at the regional level.
She said there is a need for Philippine companies to introduce and promote themselves beyond Philippine shores.
“All of this is to emphasize our Filipino companies and make them known in the Asean,” she said.
Pangilinan agreed and added that the ABA is an opportunity for the six Philippine companies to introduce themselves and make known their initiatives to Asean. “You got to really reach out. Of course, the first step is to be strong in your local market… At the end of the day, we Filipinos, whether as individuals or as corporations can take on any challenge,” he said.
Ultimately, he advised the country’s contenders “not to be afraid to compete.” ICTSI is the country’s contender for Best in Corporate Excellence, Pointwest for Best in Innovation, and Golden ABC for Best in Asean Centricity. Fountainhead is the contender for Best SME, CHEERS Corp. for Woman Leader Award; and VCargo Worldwide for Young Entrepreneur Award.
The RTD was attended by Arthur Tabuena, Project Finance Director and Head of Investor Relations of ICTSI; Ma. Cristina Coronel, President of PointWest; Edmun Liu, member of the Board of Golden ABC; Pargad Biteng, Chairman of Fountainhead; Paulo Tibig, President of Vintel; and Sandra Sanchez-Montano, VP for International Affairs of CHEERS Corp.
They were briefed by ABA Judges from the Philippines led by Federico Macarans, a Faculty of the Asian Institute of Management; and Delia Domingo-Albert, Senior Advisor at Sycip, Gorres and Velayo (SGV) & Co. about the awards and the opportunities that await them during the regional exposure.
The six Philippine winners will join the national winners for the other Asean member-countries in vying for the prestigious awards. ABA will recognize six companies from across the region that will hold the distinction as “Most Admired Asean Enterprises.”