(This was probably one of my most difficult interviews -- Yuchengco kept joking all throughout our conversation.)
One of the keys to the success of Alfonso Yuchengco, 83, is how he values partnerships, whether it is with a person, a company, or a country In business circles, his name is synonymous with banking and insurance. He saw the Yuchengco Group of Companies-composed of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, Pan Malayan Management and Investment Corporation, Great Pacific Life Insurance, House of Investments, and the Malayan Group of Insurance Companies-grow into the giant that it is today.
Though he jokes that he is "somewhat involved in the decision-making process, and sometimes, they follow me," Yuchengco, who is chairman of the group, is still very much updated with the goings-on in their subsidiaries and affiliated companies. Major plans still pass through him and he remains the strict boss who pays attention to detail (he is a certified public accountant and was once a professor of accounting at the Far Eastern University and University of the East), knowing very well how small things can unmake great plans.
It was this fastidiousness and attention to detail that allowed him to grow RCBC from a small development bank when it opened in 1960 into the fifth-largest private domestic bank in the country today with total consolidated assets of almost P164 billion, and transform Malayan Insurance from a humble operation along Gandara Street into the Philippines' largest insurance firm at present.
Reaching Out
Another key to Yuchengco's success lies in how he values partnerships. RCBC, for instance, banked on its partnership with United Financial of Japan, one of the world's largest financial conglomerates, to help establish its presence in the global markets and strengthen its competitiveness on the local front among Japanese and other foreign clients. Great Pacific Life was born from a prospective partnership with the New India Assurance Corporation. The partnership was aborted when, just before launching, the New India chairman found out his company would be nationalized under Indian rules. Thankful for the crucial piece of information passed on to him, Yuchengco still values the chairman's friendship to this day.
Yuchengco's life demonstrates how important strategic alliances and partnerships are to him. It does not matter if the partner is a person, a company, or a country. All he knows is that in reaching out, much can be accomplished. He is still active in various civic, professional, and philanthropic organizations. A few years ago, he was named by then-President Fidel Ramos as a member of the National Centennial Commission tasked to take charge of the nationwide preparations for the 100th anniversary of Philippine independence in 1998.
The Businessman as Ambassador
The biggest proof of Yuchengco's dedication to his countrymen, however, was his willingness to leave the country to help Filipinos abroad. Yuchengco readily agreed to be named the country's ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 1986 to 1988 and to Japan from 1995 to 1998. In 2001, he was also named the Philippine's permanent representative to the United Nations with rank of ambassador.
These ambassadorial stints were very memorable for him. Japan, in particular, proved to be a very challenging post, especially when he found out that there were as many as 200,000 undocumented Filipinos there. Because of their immigration status, these Filipinos had no access to medical care, which is very expensive in Japan. Yuchengco recalls that there were even cases of sick Filipinos dying because they could not get the necessary medical attention.
He decided to sidestep various immigration restrictions by bringing in a Filipino doctor as an attaché of the embassy. That way, illegally staying Filipinos could just go to the embassy for medical care. That, of course, was kept under cover and Yuchengco was confident he was not going to be discovered. "I thought it was a secret, but at the end of my term, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a reception for me, and the minister was citing my accomplishments in Japan. One of the accomplishments he cited was that I brought to Japan a doctor to treat the Filipino patients," he laughs. He came home with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun presented to him in 1998 by His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan.
His stint in China, which came right after the first EDSA revolution, was equally interesting. "Deng Xiaoping was still alive. He was the paramount leader, and I watched him undertake various reforms." Since the Philippines was also in a transition phase, Yuchengco took advantage of opportunities to strengthen ties between the two countries. "The relationship between the Philippines and China improved tremendously," he said. Yuchengco left China the day before the Tiananmen Square massacre in 4 June 1989. "Had I known it would happen, I wouldn't have left," he rues.
After the stints in China and Japan, it is not surprising that he found his UN stay "very boring." In his short stint at the UN, he won a Security Council seat for the Philippines, the first time ever that the country was elected to the Security Council.
New Opportunities
The ambassador, however, could never shake out the businessman in him. In between his foreign postings, Yuchengco still managed to undertake important projects. He was, for example, among the taipans who formed Asia's Emerging Dragons Corporation in the early 1990s to undertake infrastructure projects for the country. He was elected chairman of AEDC.
In 1999, Yuchengco purchased the Mapúa Institute of Technology, known for having produced some of the country's best engineers. The acquisition is testimony to his commitment to help improve the Philippine educational system, but it also reflects his sentimental side. "My father used to be in the construction business with Engineer Mapúa," he recalls. He decided to acquire the university not only because he saw strong business opportunities but also because of his desire to preserve his father's business roots. Following the acquisition, the university has undergone a major upgrade, strengthening its capabilities to train students for both engineering and information technology. It has also opened a branch in Makati City.
Zest for Life
That Yuchengco, 83, remains strong and energetic today is probably due to his zest for life. He genuinely enjoys people. He prays and is devoted to the Blessed Mother. He swims daily and makes it a point to be at the office at 10:00 a.m. everyday. Most of all, he believes he is lucky.
Yuchengco possesses a streak of mischief and a sense of humor. "Personal integrity is very important to me. Money doesn't mean so much. I have been negotiating with St. Peter to just let me bring my money, because if I leave them with my children, they will just fight and only the lawyers will get rich. But so far, no answer," he deadpans, "so I just decided to give it to others."
By others, he refers to his various philanthropic causes. For instance, his substantial donation to the Our Lady of Peace Mission Foundation, through the AY Foundation he established in 1970, made possible the building of the Doña Maria H.T. Yuchengco Charity Ward along the Cavite Coastal Road. The foundation also has a university scholarship program for high school graduates who are chosen by their classmates not for intellectual superiority or academic standing but for their discipline and love of country. To them, he says, "Have a dream. If you have a dream, have a plan. Think out the plan. Analyze it."
This might as well be his guiding principle in life. In business and out of it, Alfonso Yuchengco has shown how dreams take shape with a dose of luck and a lot of planning.
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