P180 for a mango

Lucio Tan is obviously not too proud to copy an idea of fellow taipan, John Gokongwei Jr.

You see, Mr. Tan has recently pirated from the same Equitable PCI Bank treasury pool as Mr. John to put up a group along the same line as JG Summit Capital Markets Corp., which is headed by former Bangko Sentral Governor Gabriel Singson.

Here’s a difference though. The group based at the Allied Banking Bldg. uses Mr. Tan’s personal funds to trade in, say, South American government bonds and East European currencies.

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There’s talk that Golden Arches Development Corp. managing director Kenneth Yang is headhunting for a replacement to marketing head Leila Hernandez.

You see, McDonald’s is giving Ms. Hernandez a regional posting starting next year, an indication that – contrary to catty chitchat – the American chain is pretty much happy with the performance of the Philippine master franchise held by the group of GADC president George Yang.

The older Mr. Yang likes to tell friends that, yes, his closest competitor generates more in terms of total revenues (because it has twice as many stores as McDonald’s) but that GADC generates more revenues on a per store basis.

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Did you know 1: A carabao mango retails for the equivalent of P180 in Europe. That’s because the Philippine mango is considered a strange fruit there. Because they are more used to the red-green Caribbean variety, Europeans have to be educated that Philippine mangoes change color as they ripen.

By the way, fresh Philippine mangoes have been exported to Europe only in the past two years. Said another way, our mangoes currently account for only two percent of total mangoes sold in Europe.

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Did you know 2: Aside from being exempted from the value-added tax, medical doctors in Thailand are given government subsidies to train abroad. Fact is, a medical doctor cannot practice there until he/she has undergone foreign training paid for by the government.

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The Philippine chapter of the World Presidents Organization is hosting a dinner for member, former Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho.

As everybody knows, WPO is where members of the Young Presidents Organization go once they turn 51.

Locally, WPO members naturally include all former and current bank presidents (so long as they pay their annual dues) such as former Far East Bank and Trust Co. president and chief executive officer and current chairman of the Delphi Group Octavio Espiritu, who is turning one year old next week.

OV Espiritu is holding a joint birthday party with other December-born friends such as Buenaventura Echauz and Partners managing partner Cesar Buenaventura and twins, RFM Corp. chairman Jose Concepcion Jr. and Concepcion Industries, Inc. chairman Raul Concepcion.