Wheels up for APEC

Philippines Inc., in collaboration with Stratbase, KGL Invest Asia and Bower Group Asia, hosted a dinner for key Philippine businessmen, regional executives of the top Fortune 500 companies, officials from the US government and members of the American Chamber of Commerce as well as the US-ASEAN Business Council.

Dubbed as “Wheels Up for APEC,” the party — organized by Stratbase group CEO Dindo Manhit, Bower Group Asia CEO Ernie Bower and Philippines Inc. executive director RP Manhit in cooperation with the National Center for APEC in Washington DC led by Monica Whaley — reflected the perspective of foreign investors about the Philippines as it continuously goes up, much like when the pilot says “wheels up!” when the plane has successfully taken off.

The party held at Blackbird Restaurant was also very appropriate since the aviation-themed restaurant at Nielson Tower in Makati is located in the place where the first international airport in the country was established, the Nielson Airport.

The dinner, which also had Philippines Inc. president Tony Lopa, KGL Invest COO Evan McBride and Bower Group Asia senior adviser Larry Greenwood with deputy director John Hellman, is just one of the many initiatives to develop US-Philippine relations and create opportunities for more foreign direct investment inflows into the country.

Incidentally, the National Center for APEC, which was established in 1994 and led by a board of more than 50 major US companies with a strong interest in the growth and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region, is the only US business association focused exclusively on facilitating private sector engagement in APEC. Photos by Ramon Joseph J. Ruiz