Dennis Uy

Dennis Ang Uy[2] (born September 26, 1973 [3]) is a Chinese-Filipino businessman and diplomat who is a native of Davao City and is the founder of Udenna Corporation which has stakes in various businesses including Phoenix Petroleum. He is also the chairman of 2GO Group, a transport and logistics company based in the Philippines.

Not to be confused with Dennis Anthony Uy, the CEO of Converge ICT Solutions.
Dennis Uy
Uy in 2018
Born
Dennis Ang Uy

(1973-09-26) September 26, 1973
Davao City, Philippines
EducationDe La Salle University
Occupation
  • Business magnate
  • diplomat
Known forFounder and owner of Phoenix Petroleum, Chairman of 2GO Group
Net worth$660 million (2019)[1]
Spouse(s)Cherylyn Chiong
Children3

Early life and education

Dennis Uy was born and raised in Davao City[4] to an ethnic Chinese family based in Davao City and is part of the Uys' third generation. Uy's grandparents, Ega Uy and Tao Sui Eng were ethnic Chinese who settled in Davao as merchants and had a store which sold fishing equipment and bread while his parents ran a small business which sold copra.[5] He is the eldest among siblings.[6] According to his own account, Dennis played basketball as a childhood hobby while at the same time sold school supplies and basketball cards to his classmates.[5]

Uy entered De La Salle University in Manila to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Business Management degree and started to trading in the stock market. He graduated from the institution in 1993.[5] Since he had an average academic performance by his own account he decided against being a lawyer and described himself to be poor in memorization to consider pursuing a career in law.[6]

Career

Business career

After finishing his tertiary education, Dennis Uy helped ran his family's business and interacted with older businessmen.[5] His family's business was based in Tagum, and was involved in mining, supermarkets, car dealership among other industries. Uy worked with his family for ten years and at one point ran seven firms simultaneously.[6] He decided to start his own business to gain independence as he felt that he did not have the freedom he aspired for himself working for his family.

He started his own business using income he gained from trading stocks while he was still in college and set up Dencio's Kamayan, a barbecue store which shares the same name but unrelated to a Manila-based restaurant chain. He started his business portfolio independently without the aid of his family members. The barbeque chain grew to at least eight outlets before handing over the business to his sister when he decided to focus on participating in the petroleum industry.[5][6] He also operated two community newspapers which served Davao City but both became defunct.[6]

In 2002, he along his wife[5] founded Udenna Corporation, a holdings company[2] that would later manage his business interests in various industries. Within the same year, Phoenix Petroleum then known as the Oilink Mindanao Distribution Company was established. In 2004, the company was renamed as Davao Oil Terminal Services Corp. (DOTSCO)[7] As part of this business, Uy set up a six million-barrel oil terminal serving businesses in the Davao region.[5] Phoenix Petroleum adopted its name in 2006 and was listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange in 2007 and became the first Davao City-based company to join the stock market.[7]

He founded Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. (CLHC) which is involved in the shipping and logistics industry and controls 2GO, a passenger ferry company.[7]

In 2016, Uy's Udenna Corporation had various acquisitions. Udenna secured permission from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation to develop a casino resort near the Mactan–Cebu International Airport. It also entered the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry and acquired Enderun Colleges.[2]

In November 2017, Udenna took over the development of the former Global Gateway Logistics City at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga which was later relaunched as Clark Global City.[8] And in 2018, a consortium between Udenna's Mislatel (now called as Dito Telecommunity) and China Telecom won the government-sanctioned bidding that would allow the consortium to become the third major telecommunications provider in the Philippines challenging the duopoly of PLDT and Globe Telecom.

Forbes estimated Uy's 2019 net worth at $660 million, ranking him as the Philippines' 22nd-richest.[1]

Dennis Uy's Udenna Corporation bought 100 million common shares of Atok-Big Wedge Co. Inc. at the negotiated price of P2.00 per share or a total of P200,000,000. Dennis Uy is also a director and vice chairman of Atok-Big Wedge. He has an existing 1,000 direct shares in the company.[9] Atok-Big Wedge Co, Inc. a listed corporation in PSE, has 20% ownership of United Kingdom-based Forum Energy Ltd. which has the right of oil exploration in SC72 in the west Philippine Sea. Forum Energy Ltd. has an ongoing talks with China for joint oil exploration after President Duterte– a close friend of Dennis Uy– lifted the moratorium on oil exploration.[10]

Diplomatic career

Aside from being a businessman, Dennis Uy is also a diplomat. He has been the honorary consul to Kazakhstan since November 2011[11] and is tasked to develop the bilateral ties of the Philippines with the Central Asian nation.[12]

Involvement in sports

Uy through his company Phoenix Petroleum, owns a franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team known as the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters joined the PBA in 2016 as the Phoenix Fuel Masters after their parent company bought the Barako Bull Energy franchise. On July 18, 2016, Uy was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as the presidential adviser for sports.[13]

Personal life

Dennis Uy is married to Cherylyn Chiong who is a graduate of Business and Finance from the Ateneo de Davao University with whom he has three children; two daughters[5] and a son.[14] He considers other businessmen such as Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Chuck Feeney as his idols. He is also a close friend of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and is a major donor of his friend's presidential campaign in 2016.[7]

References
  1. Rivas, Ralf (September 26, 2020). "Dennis Uy debuts on 2019 Forbes rich list". Rappler. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  2. Dela Paz, Chrisee (16 August 2017). "How to grow a business, according to Dennis Uy". Rappler. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  3. Jara, Marifi (20 November 2018). "A glimpse of the beginnings of a growing empire". BusinessWorld. Retrieved 25 January 2019. But the most ambitious — and most controversial — undertaking so far of the 44-year-old entrepreneur [Uy] is in yet another sector: telecommunications.
  4. "Dennis Uy to deliver keynote speech at BW Economic Forum". BusinessWorld. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  5. Gonzales, Iris (1 July 2017). "The golden age of Dennis Uy". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  6. Flores, Wilson (29 April 2018). "Dennis Uy: 'In business, dapat may forever'" [Dennis Uy: ‘In business, there should be forever’]. The Philippine Star. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  7. Cana, John Paul (18 May 2018). "From Gas Stations to Shipping to Casino Resorts: The Unstoppable Rise of Dennis Uy". Entrepreneur Philippines. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  8. Miraflor, Madelaine (19 November 2017). "Duterte pal takes full control of $1-B Clark Global City". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  9. https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/07/16/19/udenna-corp-buys-100-million-shares-in-mining-firm-atok-big-wedge
  10. https://www.bworldonline.com/atok-bid-wedge-keeps-forum-stake/
  11. Ramos, Christie Marie (7 November 2018). "Who is Dennis Uy?". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  12. Mananquil, Millet (29 April 2018). "The heart & core of Dennis Uy". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  13. Dy, Richard (19 July 2016). "Phoenix boss Dennis Uy named Duterte's adviser for sports". Fox Sports. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  14. "Ferraris for a kiddie party & Subaru's Tanabata Festival". The Philippine Star. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
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