The first-ever “JG Analysts Days,” a two-day gathering of sell-side analysts and top executives from JG Summit Holdings, took place from March 5 to 6 at various points in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces. The gathering allowed the different business units within the conglomerate—URC, JG Summit Petrochemicals Group, Robinsons Bank, Robinsons Land, and Cebu Pacific—to showcase their facilities and products, while providing the sell-side analysts with unprecedented access to the conglomerate’s key thought leaders.
“One of the thrusts in Investor Relations is to be a bridge between the capital markets and the business. We organized this inaugural event to improve sell-side analysts’ knowledge on the conglomerate and its subsidiaries. Given the current transformation programs of the group, I think it is timely that we communicate and articulate our strategic thrust and pillars as well as expose our different SBU (strategic business unit) CEOs to engage closer with analysts and investors.
“Our ultimate goal is that these types of activities will help drive shareholder value maximization in the long term,” said Michael “Mike” Liwanag, Senior Vice President for Investor Relations and Special Projects of JG Summit.
In the investment world, sell-side analysts produce recommendations and research reports which aid their clients in making investment decisions. By looking into market trends, analysis and projections of business financials, they are able to give their recommendations on a particular stock: buy, sell, or hold. “Sell-side analysts can help spread the word about JG Summit,” said Carlos Yu, JG Summit Investor Relations Manager, who himself was a former analyst with BAML-PEP.
Sell-side analysts with JG IR team and JG Petrochem representatives (Silvestre Yraola III, Marketing Communications Manager, Reynaldo Ganal, VP for Finance and Administration; and Napoleon Vasay, CFO).
Thirty-eight sell-side analysts (including three who are foreign based) covering industries where JG Summit is involved took part in the sessions. The first day included an early morning trip to JG Summit Petrochemicals Group's plant in Simlong, Batangas City, and in the afternoon, a URC plant tour in Barangay San Cristobal, Calamba. The visit to JGSPG was much appreciated by the analysts as they gained a deeper appreciation for the company. The analysts were given a roving-vehicle tour around the facility, visiting the naphtha cracker and polymer plant, and also the quality control lab. “Our process engineers tried their best to explain everything in layman’s terms, simplifying the processes, to help the analysts understand better,” says Yu.
The learning didn’t stop at the plant, as over lunch, executives from JGSPG, including Maria Veron Marasigan, Business Development, Research and Communications Manager; Silvestre Yraola III, Marketing Communications Manager; Reynaldo Ganal, VP for Finance and Administration; and Napoleon Vasay, CFO, gamely answered more of the analysts’ queries.
URC Calamba plant overview before the tour proper.
In the afternoon, everyone was brought to URC’s plant in Calamba for a session that focused on manufacturing processes, including the pilot “Lean Manufacturing Excellence Program.” Nilo Siongco, the director of Lean Manufacturing, led this discussion, while Elmer Dela Cruz, plant officer-in-charge of Calamba 1; Edward Villanueva, plant manager of Calamba 2; and Alan Sicat, Manufacturing Director, facilitated the plant tour showcasing the snack, confectionary, and beverage lines.
The following day’s activities began with the highly anticipated face-to-face Q&A session with CEOs and other key leaders from JG Summit’s various business units. In a largely free-flowing discussion, the sell-side analysts were able to query JG Summit President and CEO Lance Y. Gokongwei, JSGPG President and CEO Patrick Go, Cebu Pacific Chief Executive Adviser Michael Szucs, Robinsons Land President and CEO Frederick D. Go, and Robinsons Bank President and CEO Elfren Sarte about their business strategies and a host of varied topics, ranging from the conglomerate’s ongoing digitalization and the big investments in Clark. URC President Irwin Lee also joined the discussions via video conference.
After lunch was the tour of Robinsons Galleria facilitated by Myron Yao, Regional Operations Manager for Robinsons Malls, and members of his team, followed by a tour of the Bridgetowne integrated community’s Tera and Exxa office towers, facilitated by Ron Rodrigo, head of Investor Relations and Kaye Sanchez, Vice President, Business Development and Marketing. The analysts were also taken inside a Robinsons Bank branch in Bridgetowne, where Rhory Go, Corporate Planning Head, and Salvador Paps, Retail Banking Segment Head, spoke about some of the bank’s innovative products.
Analysts getting a rare glimpse inside Cebu Pacific's Customer Care Command Center.
The last business-related activity was an eye-opener for the analysts, as they were taken deep into the command centers of Cebu Pacific. Welcomed personally at the building lobby by Cebu Pacific CEA Michael Szucs, the guests marveled at the buzzing activity inside the Customer Care Command Center as well as in the Network Control Center, where on large screens you can follow all of the airline’s flights around the country and across the region. The tours were handled by Trina Asuncion, director of Corporate Planning and Investor Relations; Angelica Olvido, manager of Corporate Planning and Investor Relations; Ivan Gaw, Manager-Guest Relations; Niño Angelo Ong, Manager-Customer Care; and Apomar G. Nellas, Network Control Center Director. CEB’s CFO Andrew Huang also took part in the Airline Operations Center tour.
After a fully packed two days, the JG Analyst Days sessions were deemed a success, with the JG Summit Investor Relations team pleased with meeting their objectives. In particular, the event was useful for improving knowledge about JG Summit’s unlisted firms, namely JG Summit Petrochemicals Group and Robinsons Bank.
