BUILDING AN EMPIRE. Phoenix Petroleum president and chief executive officer Dennis Uy talks to Rappler on July 12, 2017. Photo by LeAnne Jazul/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – When the clock strikes 12 in one of the tallest skyscrapers in the Bonifacio Global City business district, two office floors shut their lights to start lunch break. As other employees go for their power naps, the energy remains high at the 26th floor corner office of Dennis Uy, the baby-faced boss.
Uy, an emerging tycoon from Davao City, was all smiles and bubbly when he ushered us into his office, which has a commanding view of the bustling district at the heart of Metro Manila. A consummate entrepreneur, Uy was holding marathon interviews ahead of the maiden share sale of Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corporation, the third company he controls listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).
Uy is media shy and has turned down requests for interviews on camera, but has agreed to do sit-down chats with journalists, a compromise with his handlers who advise him about how the public perceives him.
After all, while his provincial-lad-conquers-Manila business story has been an inspiration to wannabees, his association with President Rodrigo Duterte, a fellow Davaoeño who he supported during the 2016 presidential race, clouds some of his entrepreneurial achievements.
In the first year of Duterte in office, Uy has been one of the country's most productive entrepreneurs, bagging and growing companies left and right. Aside from Duterte, Uy has also earned the trust of the Philippines' richest family, the Sys, who backed him up in his foray into shipping and logistics. (READ: How the Sy family and Dennis Uy became business partners)
With several deals and contracts sealed in just one year, the spotlight is indeed on the 43-year-old low-key businessman from Davao City.
The empire builder
A self-made businessman from the province just a little over a decade ago, Uy has made a big leap. In the past months, he has been rubbing elbows with Filipino billionaires with venerable family names like Ayala, Sy, and Aboitiz during government-sponsored business events. He has also been a staple private-sector delegate during Duterte's many foreign visits, from China to Russia.
His own wealth is nothing to sneeze at. Entrepreneur Philippines estimated his and his family's net worth to be in the vicinity of P22 billion, or around $430 million.
Based on the wealth estimates of Forbes, which compiles the list of 50 richest Filipinos, the Uys' wealth is even more than that of mining tycoon Manuel Zamora ($300 million), US President Donald Trump's Philippine partner Jose Antonio ($195 million), and the triumvirate owners of media firm GMA Network (Gilberto Duavit, $185 million; Menardo Jimenez, $180 million; Felipe Gozon, $160 million).
Uy's wealth is also bigger than two of the youngest in the Forbes rich list: the 43-year-old Michael Cosiquien ($265 million) and Edgar Saavedra ($255 million), founders of infrastructure giant Megawide, builder of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
According to Forbes, the average age of those in the Philippine Rich List is 73.
Uy has never been in any rich list, but, with his recent moves to beef up his empire with firms required to be more financially transparent, he will likely be included in several elite lists soon.
The investing public has known of his stakes in oil retailer Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Incorporated, which had a market value of over P16 billion as of Friday, August 11. The August listing of shipping and logistics firm Chelsea Logistics and Uy's recent acquisition of a controlling stake in listed 2GO Group Incorporated have further made the value of his aggressively growing business empire more publicly known.
Chelsea and its subsidiary 2GO had a market capitalization of P18.2 billion and P53 billion, respectively, as of August 11.
Uy's business empire is housed under Udenna Corporation, his holding company, and the parent of Phoenix Petroleum and Chelsea Logistics. "Udenna" is a word play on his own name: Dennis Ang Uy. "Every time people ask [what Udenna means], I joke it is the Greek name for handsome," he shared with a hearty laugh.
He put up Udenna in 2002. He had just quit his family's businesses in Mindanao then, and was ruminating on how to make it on his own. Without a masterplan, he just went with the flow, growing the business slowly and under the radar.
He first burst into the national limelight when Udenna's first unit, oil retailer Phoenix Petroleum, went public in 2007. Phoenix, which initially operated outlets in Mindanao, has since grown to become the 2nd biggest independent petroleum retailer nationwide in terms of market share. The latest oil supply and demand report from the Department of Energy showed Phoenix eating up 5.7% of petroleum market share in 2016, next to Seaoil's 5.9%.
Then came the frenzied mergers and acquisitions and new deals in the past months – all under the 1st year of his longtime friend, President Duterte.
In May, he secured the go signal from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation to build a $300-million integrated resort and casino near the Mactan-Cebu International Airport – a first of its kind outside Metro Manila. To raise funds for the ambitious project, he sold a 25% stake in Phoenix to a little known financial strategy firm, ES Consultancy Corporation.
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