Bank of China partners with SM Group

MANILA, Philippines — Bank of China has partnered with the SM Group to support the success of Filipinos particularly in sports.

Deng Jun, country head of Bank of China, said the support of Filipino athletes and the promotion of the Winter Olympics in Beijing further enhances the bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and China.

Aside from supporting Asa Miller – the country’s sole representative to the Winter Olympics, Deng said Bank of China wants to enable the younger generation who are eager back on the ice after almost two years without access to it due to the pandemic.

“We decided to explore a partnership with them in the area of corporate social responsibility because we are both deeply committed in supporting the success of Filipinos. In addition, SM was a natural partner because of their unique role in providing ice activities in the Philippines,” Deng said.

The partnership for the 2022 Winter Olympics campaign is the pilot project of both parties to serve as the foundation in exploring more possible activities in the future.

“As the official banking partner of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics and the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, we at Bank of China endeavor to support sports activities and facilities in line with our mission and our plans for 2022,” Deng said.

SM Supermalls president Steven Tan told The STAR that SM was supposed to open its skating rinks in the latter part of this year, but reopened earlier than planned due to the partnership with Bank of China.

“We are optimistic that the comeback of the rink will create more exposure of winter sports in the country and a bigger ice skating community. The Bank of China has been supportive of our initiatives in training our Filipino athletes and with our current partnership, we feel ecstatic that this extra push will help motivate the Philippine athletes to persevere and get closer to their dreams in the sport,” Tan said.

Aside from being a corporate social responsibility initiative, Tan said the partnership with Bank of China aimed at promoting the Winter Olympics would also showcase the talent of Filipino athletes.

The initiative, according to Tan, would also help develop stronger sports programs with the help and coordination of national sports associations, including the Philippine Skating Union (PHSU) and the Federation Ice Hockey League.