Sy-Coson, Lopez-Bautista make it to Forbes Asia’s Top 15 philanthropists

MANILA, Philippines — Two Filipino women, Tessie Sy-Coson and Rina Lopez-Bautista, made it to Forbes’ list of Asia’s Top 15 philanthropists, a roster of “prominent entrepreneurs and business tycoons who demonstrated a clear personal commitment to a number of causes.”

Higher education was a main focus for some of those on the unranked list, which put the spotlight on individual philanthropists in the Asia-Pacific region who are donating significant amounts from their personal fortunes, as well as giving their time and personal attention to their selected causes, according to Forbes.

Sy-Coson, the eldest daughter of the late retail magnate Henry Sy Sr., was recognized for the SM Group’s COVID-19 response.

She spearheads the group’s philanthropy as vice chairman of SM Foundation, established by her parents in 1983.

“As soon as Covid-19 vaccines became available this year, SM Group acquired 560,000 doses to inoculate the group’s more than 120,000 employees. SM also donated 150,000 doses to the government and marginalized communities.

Through the SM Foundation, the SM Group has so far donated over P1.5 billion in vaccines, hospital equipment, and protective gear for healthcare workers.

Over the past three decades, SM Foundation has supported the treatment of 1.2 million underprivileged patients, helped over 8,000 students attend college and technical-vocational institutions and funded the building of over 100 schools across the country, Forbes also said.

The Sys are the country’s richest family.

Lopez-Bautista, daughter of Filipino tycoon Oscar Lopez, was recognized for ed-tech nonprofit Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. (KCFI) which is aimed to meet the educational standards set by the Department of Education for K-12 students and teachers in the country.

“Funded by Lopez group companies and others, KCFI last March launched the Stay at Home, Learn at Home campaign for students during COVID-19 lockdowns. In its first few months, the campaign produced 1,500 educational videos.

At present, KCFI has over 150,000 followers on Facebook and more than 200,000 subscribers on YouTube. In September, KFCI partnered with theAsianparent Philippines app, reaching a further 500,000 users.

Others on the list are Hong Kong’s husband and wife Joseph and Clara Tsai, founders of Alibaba and the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation, respectively, who pledged $220 million in July toward a first-of-its-kind collaboration that studies the biology of peak human performance and Pham Nhat Vuong of Vietnam, founder of Vingroup, which has given over $320 million to pandemic relief in Vietnam since 2020.

Completing the lineup are Taiwan’s Lin Chen-Hai, founder and chairman of Pau Jar Group, which donated $100 million to advance social science education in his country; Anil Agarwal of India, whose Vedanta Resources supports healthcare and animal welfare programs; Japan’s Takemitsu Takizaki, founder of Keyence which provides scholarships to university students; Michael Kim of South Korea whose MBK Partners supports education causes; Jeffrey Cheah of Malaysia, chairman of Sunway Group which also helps education causes; India’s Azim Premji whose Wipro helps support social causes; Singapore Pan Pacific Hotel Group’s Wee Wei Ling who helps children and individuals with special needs; brothers Ronnie and Gerald Chan of Hong Kong who support medical education; Cho Tak Wong, founder and chairman of China’s Fuyao Glass Industry Group which donated $15.6 million to flood-relief efforts in China’s Henan Province; Australia’s Mike Cannon-Brookes, who Atlassian helps in environmental and climate change initiatives; and South Korea’s Kim Jung-Ju, founder of Nexon, which helps supports children’s hospitals, among other initiatives.