Enterprise Asia, a non-governmental organization based in Malaysia that organizes the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (APEA), honored retail pioneer Henry Sy, Sr. with a Lifetime Achievement Award last Dec. 1 at a ceremony held at the Dusit Thani Manila. Sy is the first and only Filipino to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from Enterprise Asia, which is on its third year of organizing the awards in the Philippines.
The APEA recognizes and honors business leaders who have shown outstanding performance and tenacity in developing successful businesses within the Asian region. The awards also aim to gather leading entrepreneurs across Asia to spur greater innovation, fair practices and growth in entrepreneurship. Today, the award covers Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, China and the Philippines.
“On behalf of Mr. Henry Sy, Sr. and his family, we thank Enterprise Asia for this honor and prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award,” Mr. Jose T. Sio, SM Investments Corporation (SM) executive vice president and chief finance officer said. Among the notable recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award for the past 10 years were: Yeoh Tiong Lay, the founder of YTL Corporation, the largest conglomerate in Malaysia;Teh Hong Piow, the founder of Public Bank Berhad, one of the largest banks in Malaysia; Food magnate Sam Goi, chairman of Tee Yih Jia Group of Singapore; Ciputra of PT. Ciputra Group, one of the leading property developers in Indonesia;Mokhtar Riady, founder of the Lippo Group of Indonesia; and real estate magnate Hui Wing Mau of the Shimao Group of Hong Kong to name a few.
Sy is the founding Chairman of SM. To many, he is the Father of Philippine Retail, having successfully built SM into a dominant player in the country’s retail industry with its highly progressive and innovative approach. Like his Chinese name predicted and with his vision, passion and hard work, Mr. Sy transformed Shoemart, from a humble shoe store, into SM, now a highly recognizable brand and icon with interests and presence in retail, banking, and property development. Enterprise Asia is a non-governmental organization dedicated to recognizing entrepreneurship development across the region.