Metrobank 1st foreign bank in Quanzhou

Quanzhou City – Metrobank became the first foreign bank to establish its presence in this industrial city with the opening last April 26 of a branch here.

Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr., civic leader and Metrobank Foundation trustee wife Milagros G. Drilon, Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Ma Keqing, Philippine Consul General to Xiamen Adelio Angelito S. Cruz, former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban and guests from the Philippines were there to witness the  inauguration of Metrobank’s new branch in Quanzhou City, Fujian province, south China.

The Philippines’ Metrobank is the first foreign bank in Quanzhou, the industrial powerhouse of booming Fujian, the world’s biggest footwear exporter, one of the world’s top two biggest seaports in the Yuan Dynasty and the ancestral hometown of Metrobank Group chairman and founder Dr. George S. K. Ty.

Metrobank is also the first foreign bank to open in booming Jiangsu province beside Shanghai on April 22, 2010. Metrobank now has 34 foreign branches, offices and subsidiaries worldwide. All the world’s top banks from the West and Asia are competing in China, now the world’s second largest economy, and Metrobank is helping boost the Philippine presence in this fast-growing market.

Ty and wife Mary Ty, Metrobank board of advisers chairman Antonio S. Abacan, Jr., Metrobank chairman Arthur Ty, vice-chairman Francisco C. Sebastian and Federal Land president Alfred Ty hosted the inaugural festivities at the grand ballroom of the five-star Wanda Vista Hotel Quanzhou. Special guests were top government and business leaders of Quanzhou City led by Vice-Mayor Fu Chaoyang.

In his speech, Belmonte said: “The inauguration of Metrobank China Quanzhou branch is another milestone for Metrobank. The celebration of its 50th anniversary last year, was a poignant moment of realization of Dr. George S. K. Ty’s vision to put up a bank that will serve businesses not only in the Philippines but also to frontier regions such as Fujian province.”

“This inauguration signifies not only Dr. Ty’s homage to his birthplace, but also a celebration of his life’s works and achievements, as his story has indeed come full circle.”

“Metrobank to a great extent has complemented our government’s thrust to strengthen relations with the People’s Republic of China.”

“China and the Philippines established diplomatic relations in the mid-1970s and since then, the relationship between our countries has developed significantly, with bilateral trade value reaching $36.37 billion last year; that’s an increase of 12.8 percent from the year 2011.”

Keqing, in her speech, cited the strong and mutually beneficial economic relations between the Philippines and China, lauding positive contributions by private sector leaders like Metrobank Group founder Dr. George S. K. Ty to strengthen bilateral ties. She urged top entrepreneurs and companies in Quanzhou region of Fujian to boost trade with and increase investments in the Philippines.

Quanzhou City Vice-Mayor Fu Chaoyang in his speech said: “The founding of Metrobank (China) makes contributions to trade cooperation of enterprises in China and Southeast Asia, which will also help Quanzhou enterprises to look abroad for opportunities and to reach out to the world… Quanzhou is China’s third financial reform zone, Metrobank (China) Quanzhou branch is open at exactly the right time and of far-reaching significance… Welcome to Metrobank and congratulations to Dr. George S. K. Ty.”

Arthur Ty in his speech reaffirmed the bank’s “customer-centric” fundamental service philosophy and said that the expanding global network seeks to support entrepreneurs in the Philippines and China to increase trade and investments. In an exclusive interview with The Philippine Star, Arthur Ty said Metrobank plans to open more branches in different cities of China.

To cap off the inauguration celebrations, Metrobank Group founder Dr. Ty formally turned over a donation of one million RMB to Quanzhou City for its socio-civic undertakings. This philanthropic gesture of Dr. Ty is his way of giving back tgo his hometown community. Metrobank Foundation is one of the biggest donors to Philippine socio-civic causes in the past three decades, especially in the fields of education, medical care, arts and culture.