MANILA: The Philippines’ wealthiest man Henry Sy, who rose from being a penniless Chinese immigrant to leading a multi-billion dollar business empire, died on Saturday, his conglomerate has announced.
The 94-year-old, from the Chinese city of Xiamen, made his fortune with a Philippine shopping center conglomerate that has put up some of the largest malls in the world.
However his holdings also included banks, hotels and real estate in the Philippines, as well as shopping centers in China.
He had a net worth of $19 billion as of Friday, according to Forbes.com.
Forbes said he was the 52nd richest person in the world last year, beating out bold name tycoons like Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch and George Soros.
“Henry Sy ... passed away peacefully in his sleep early Saturday morning. There are no further details at the moment,” his SM group said in a statement.
Sy put up his first shoe store in downtown Manila in 1956, a business which later grew into a diversified empire.
He stepped down as chairman of his holding firm in 2017, assuming the title of “chairman emeritus” and leaving trusted allies as well as his children in charge of his empire.
It was a long journey for a man who came to the Philippines as a boy to work in his immigrant father’s variety store.
“Our store was so small it had no back or second floor, we just slept on the counter late at night after the store was closed,” he told the Philippine Star newspaper in 2006.
After their shop was destroyed during World War II, Sy’s father returned to China but Henry chose to stay in the Philippines.
He got a commerce degree from a Manila university and started selling shoes in a shop which would later grow into a chain named “ShoeMart.”
By 1972, his shops had branched out into selling all manner of goods, prompting the name to be changed to SM Department Store.
But it was in 1985 that Sy made history when he opened his first “Supermall” in Manila.
Spanning over 424,000 square meters (4.6 million square feet), the mall included dozens of stores, numerous cinemas, restaurants, banks and other attractions that made it a one-stop shop for millions of Filipinos.
This was just the start, as more of Sy’s mammoth malls popped up across the country, some even containing ice skating rinks, a rarity in the tropical country.
Sy helped create mall culture in the Philippines, where steamy temperatures and the regular threat of torrential downpours can make outdoor shopping uncomfortable.
Sy’s holding company, SM Investments Corp. opened its first mall in China in 2001 and has been expanding there as well.
By 2018, SM said it had 70 malls in the Philippines and seven in China as well as six hotels and eight office buildings.
Sy’s empire has earned its share of criticism from labor groups, who say it uses thousands of contractual hires to avoid paying higher wages and benefits that permanent workers are entitled to.
SM officials have insisted that they do not engage in so-called “contractualization,” but say they hire “seasonal” workers for peak periods like Christmas, back-to-school and even weekends.
Philippines’ richest man Henry Sy dead at 94
Philippines’ richest man Henry Sy dead at 94
- Henry Sy had a net worth of $19 billion as of Friday, according to Forbes.com
- Sy helped create mall culture in the Philippines
QatarEnergy and Malaysia’s Petronas sign 20-year LNG supply agreement
RIYADH: QatarEnergy has entered into a 20-year sales and purchase agreement with Malaysia’s Petronas for the supply of liquefied natural gas, the companies have announced.
Under the deal, QatarEnergy will supply 2 million tonnes per annum of LNG to Petronas, starting in 2028.
The SPA was signed in Doha at a ceremony held alongside the 21st International Conference & Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas “LNG2026.”
This marks the first long-term LNG SPA between the two state-owned energy corporations.
The agreement underscores Qatar’s expanding role as one of the world’s leading LNG suppliers, as the country advances major production growth projects aimed at increasing its export capacity later this decade.
According to the press release, the deal “reflects the continued confidence and trust between the two organizations and underscores their shared vision for a sustainable energy future and the strengthening of bilateral cooperation.”
The signatories were Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the minister of state for energy affairs as well as president and CEO of QatarEnergy, and YM Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Kamadjaja Aziz, the president and group CEO of Petronas.
Al-Kaabi stated: “QatarEnergy is pleased to enter into this new LNG SPA with Petronas, which highlights our continued commitment to support the growing energy needs of Malaysia as well as our customers across the globe.”
QatarEnergy stated the agreement reflects its ongoing dedication to strengthening global partnerships, promoting cleaner energy solutions, and supporting the economic development goals of key markets worldwide.
On Feb. 3, QatarEnergy signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and JERA, the country’s largest power generation company, for supplying Japan with additional liquefied natural gas quantities during emergency situations.
The MoU, signed on the sidelines of the same conference in Doha, stipulates QatarEnergy’s response in the event of unforeseen emergencies that could affect Japan, such as natural disasters. The agreement also includes mechanisms for bilateral consultation on appropriate response measures in such situations.
The MoU also underlines QatarEnergy’s role in ensuring energy security to all its customers through access to supplemental LNG volumes during emergencies and supply disruptions, it said in a press release. It also emphasizes Qatar’s ability to provide stable LNG supplies as well as its well established reputation as a reliable and trustworthy energy provider.
