Liechtenstein, Singapore tycoons still bullish on Philippines, despite ZTE-NBN

The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference. — Bess Myerson

True entrepreneurs are not scared away by corruption, but we should not be indifferent and we should help stop or at least moderate the greed. With or without corruption scandals, we in the private sector should continue to invest and find ways to detach our fast-growing Philippine economy from rambunctious and sordid politics.

A Makati tycoon told this writer that another infrastructure deal to watch out for is the MRT 7 project, which he claims has over US$1 billion in alleged overpricing and could be bigger than ZTE-NBN. What is the truth behind this and all other allegations?

There must be decisive punishments for the bigwigs behind all corrupt deals — whether politicos, generals, compradors or minions — or else there shall be no end to these mafia-like organized crimes. Excessive corruption distorts market forces, corrodes competitiveness and causes gross economic inefficiencies.

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I urge all small entrepreneurs to join the first-ever Nokia Mobile Entrepreneur Awards, for those who creatively use mobile technology in their business. The winner will receive P300,000 in cash and the first runner-up gets P150,000 cash, plus both will be given free Nokia E51 mobile phones. The deadline is March 31, 2008. For details and rules, call Go Negosyo at 637-9229, 0922-4424234, 0917-5149598 or 0919-6857079, or e-mail nokiamobileentrep@gmail.com.

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Unknown to most people, a leader of one of Europe’s oldest and wealthiest royal families — His Serene Highness Prince Philipp of Liechtenstein, who is also chairman of the family-owned LGT Bank — recently visited the Philippines and hosted a special polo match called “LGT Bank Princely Cup” at the Manila Polo Club in Makati on March 2. When asked his assessment of the Philippine economy, Prince Philipp said he is “optimistic about the future of the Philippine economy and its growth prospects.”

Wedged between Switzerland and Austria in the heart of Europe, Liechtenstein is the continent’s fourth smallest state and only one-third the size of Singapore. A favored tax haven of the world’s super-rich, this alpine state has strict banking secrecy laws, low taxation, stable political climate and has the best AAA country rating by Moody’s and S&P. LGT Bank has 1,800 employees worldwide and it manages US$78 billion in private wealth of elite families and top entrepreneurs focusing only in Europe and Asia.

I suggest to the Liechtenstein royal family not to accept dirty money of corrupt politicians or crooked generals, in the same way they shouldn’t accept money from gangsters, terrorists or drug lords. There should be a global coalition to flush out ill-gotten wealth and for special commandos to liquidate the corrupt VIPs wherever they hide.

There were four polo teams competing in front of a select audience — Gray, Red, Blue and Yellow — with four players per team. One of the top teams was the Blue Team, led by the late Enrique Zobel’s son Iñigo Zobel, Santi Elizalde, Alfie Araneta and Jay de Jesus. Among those seen in the audience were Ambassador Isabel Caro Wilson; George Yang of McDonald’s and his wife, top jeweler Kristine Sy-Yang; Gregorio “Greggy” Araneta III; Honorary Consul Ceferino Benedicto and others.

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Congrats to my idol Warren Buffett for recently being ranked the world’s wealthiest man by Forbes magazine; also to Philippine Airlines/Allied Bank/Asia Brewery taipan Lucio C. Tan, listed as the wealthiest man in the Philippines.

The annual roster of the world’s richest should humble all of us and remind us that we need to work harder! Also, more than material wealth, we should also cherish our good name, knowledge, arts, good books, the true wealth of good health, priceless true friendships and family.

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A low-key taipan who was recently in the Philippines to inaugurate his new business venture and unruffled by the corrupt politics in our news headlines is Singaporean entrepreneur Lim Chee Yong, who spoke to us in the Hokkien dialect about his excitement over his new Manila Ocean Park behind the Quirino Grandstand and facing the Manila Bay. He invested P700 million for phase one of the project, which is an oceanarium housing 20,000 exotic and colorful fish, most of which came from our diverse Philippine seas. Lim told me: “This is the best oceanarium in Southeast Asia.”

Phase two of his project is a two-story shopping mall with 35 restaurants, 30 shops and a 100-room boutique hotel (half of all rooms will have views of Manila Bay while the other half will face the giant aquarium walls with views of the exotic fish. Lim’s total investment when all is completed in August this year will be P1.5 billion.

Unknown to most people, the new Manila Ocean Park occupies a one-hectare platform built by the government’s Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) during the short stint of President Joseph Estrada, and it was said to be originally slated for a casino project. This project was shelved, and Singaporean taipan Lim Chee Yong approached the PTA in 2004 to propose the new oceanarium complex. He pays P20 million in rental for the space to the government every year.

Lim’s new Manila venture is part of his Singapore-based China Oceanis Pte Ltd of the China Oceanis Group of Companies, with four successful oceanariums all over China’s cities like Nanjing and Chongqing, the Nanjing Underwater World and Chongqing Xinao Underwater World. I suggest that Lim open another oceanarium in General Santos City in Mindanao, famed for its tuna, or in Cebu. After all, Manila alone isn’t the Philippines.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo spent a half an hour touring the Manila Ocean Park on its inaugural last February 29, delivering no speeches; it was also the same day of the biggest anti-corruption protest rally in Makati City.

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Whatever happened to the government’s aquarium in Manila City before, as well as the planetarium near Rizal Park, or Imelda Marcos’ former Manila Film Center? How is the state of our so-called National Library, which is pathetically small and seemingly under-funded compared to Fully Booked in The Fort, PowerBooks outlets or A Different Bookstore branches? It’s good that Henry Sy last year inaugurated his own science museum and planetarium in his SM Mall of Asia for the educational benefit of students — hopefully the youth will learn more about science.

It’s good news, too, that Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim is planning to revive and reopen the landmark Metropolitan Theater, because one of the obligations of government is to promote education, culture, nature and arts. Lim should let the private sector or a market-driven NGO run the Met, not government bureaucrats or politicians again. Look at the way government has run down the Metro Manila Film Festival.

One of the reasons I am furious at the immoderate greed of our politicians, generals, bureaucrats and their accomplices is the woeful lack of public education and recreation facilities in this otherwise tropical paradise. How come our politicians are wasting many billions of pesos in taxpayers’ money on harebrained, useless projects like the scuttled National Broadband Network or the stupid Cyber Education deal, allegedly padding them with huge over-pricing, instead of constructing oceanariums, planetariums, museums, public libraries and more public parks to uplift the quality of life for the people?

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Thanks for your messages, all will be answered. Comments or suggestions welcome at willsoonflourish@gmail.com or wilson_lee_flores@yahoo.com.