What is Manny's next dream purchase?

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine STAR got a few minutes with the soft-spoken MVP: 

THE PHILIPPINE STAR: Do you have a favorite techie gadget?

MANNY PANGILINAN: Just a cell phone; I have two of them.

Do you text?

Yes, of course.

When you text do you use smileys, or frowns?

I use of more of the standard sort of texting. I don’t go for the “gadgety” signs. But I abbreviate sometimes. Although I am quite good at spelling, there are times when I am in a hurry. Like, for example, when I text “dinner” and I am in a rush I just spell it with one “n” to save time. I use numerals like “4” for “for” and “2” for “2night” or whatever.

I also sometimes use “wher na u?” and “me na here.”

You have recently bought into Meralco, First Philippine Infrstructure Inc., and a chain of leading hospitals. What is your next dream purchase?

 Yes, I do have one but I can’t say what it is. It involves public companies — several, right? Everyone’s got a wish list. But to the extent that these are public companies, I can’t say what these are.

What’s your favorite city? 

No matter how pretty or not pretty Manila is, Metro Manila, right, it’s still home. So, it’s beautiful because it’s home.

Outside the country?

The cities outside the country that are physically attractive to me are San Francisco because of the weather and the landscape; Vancouver, Canada, which is frankly physically more attractive than San Francisco. Then there is Paris because it has got a lot of character. Vienna, Madrid, Barcelona, London…

What places would you still like to visit?

I haven’t been to St. Petersburg, Russia. I understand that it is very nice. And neither have I been to Budapest or Prague. I have to do my own “bakit” list. I like to call it a “bakit” list — so that I have reasons to go there.

Among the places on your “bakit” list, which would you like to see first?

I would probably go to St. Petersburg. I have only been to the airport in Moscow on my way to London in the ’80s. I understand St. Peterburg is a wonderful city, where treasures of the czars and czarinas are. I would like to see them.

You often go to Hong Kong. What is it about Hong Kong that you love so much?

One’s impression of Hong Kong is that it is a place for shopping, for good food, and resting. All of these things are true because in many ways, Hong Kong is a transitory place. The perception of most Pinoys is that it is a place where the quality of life is not so high.

You were based in Hong Hong for a long time. Tell us about the Hong Kong that we don’t know.

It is a wonderful place to work because the rule of law is observed. It is a very cosmopolitan city, with good food and good wine. There are great buildings and everything works. And from a business perspective, it gathers together a community of working-class professionals in banking, accountancy, in auditing, in the legal profession — so the working environment in Hong Kong is excellent.

The common perception of Hong Kong as being rather shallow or shoddy is not true. There are things lacking about it like cultural depth because it is a city-state — but now it is part of China.