FILIPINO TAIPAN DONATED BILLIONS TO CHARITY

MANILA – “Life has been good to me,” Mr. Gokongwei told over the 1,000 guests who packed the Gokongwei-owned Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ortigas Center . “I want to give back the blessings that I have received.”

A strong believer in “sharing and giving back”, one of the 7 billionaires in the Philippines , Mr. John L. Gokongwei Jr. celebrated his 80 th birthday last August 11, 2006 with surprises worth in several billion pesos. “He stands tall, as no other Filipino Taipan has done this much for the Filipinos,” quoted by one observer.

Amongst families, friends and business associates, Mr. Gokongwei thanked the people who supported and contributed to his success. He furthered showed his gratitude by donating one-half of his personal shareholdings in the JG Summit Holdings – equivalent to a staggering P10.25 billion to charity.

Building the Philippines ' Largest Conglomerate

Barely 19 years old, Mr. Gokongwei put up his own company, importing textile remnants and old clothing from the United States . At 30, he turned his attention to food manufacturing and thus was born Universal Robina Corporation.

Indeed life has been good for Mr. Gokongwei. Starting with a rusty bicycle in hand and without a capital after the war, he built the biggest holding company in the Philippines today – JG Summit Holdings, Inc.

His empire, known as JG Summit Holdings, Inc. (JGHI), is now involved in real estate development, branded consumers foods, agro-industrial and commodity food products, textile, telecommunications, petrochemicals, air transportation and financial services. Today, JG Summit's presence is felt in countless Southeast Asian countries.

The Property Developer of Choice

Proving to be pioneers and leaders on the market, Gokongwei-owned real estate company, Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) is one of the Philippines ' leading real estate companies involved in the development and operation of shopping malls, hotels as well as residential homes and High-Rise condominiums all over the country.

To date, Robinsons Land is the Philippines ' property developer of choice. And by addressing the needs and wants of the market, all the projects of RLC continued to be well received and trusted by Filipinos who live and work overseas.

With the overwhelming demand from Filipino Americans/Baby Boomers in the United States, RLC regularly holds international road shows as venues to introduce new residential condominiums that suits Fil-Am's needs.

A series of Road Shows will once again be held in the United Sates from September to November. The International Marketing Group of RLC will introduce their newest condo – EAST OF GALLERIA, a development located at the heart of the Ortigas Business District and Mall Capital of the Philippines .

East of Galleria offers absolute convenience of living beside malls, shopping and access to premier leisure, entertainment facilities, medical institutions and exclusive schools. Know more about East of Galleria and visit the following road shows: Chicago on Sept. 9-10; San Francisco on Sept. 16-17; Palmdale, CA on Sept 23-24; Cerritos, CA on Sept 30-Oct 1; Boston and Burbank, CA on Oct. 7-8; New Jersey and Panorama City, CA on Oct. 14-15; San Francisco, San Diego and Toronto, Canada - all on Oct. 21-22; Hawaii on Oct 28-29; Chicago on Nov. 4-5; New Jersey on Nov. 11-12 and Virginia on Nov. 18-19.