Alliance Global Group Inc. (AGI), the holding firm of businessman Andrew Tan, said it is banking on the growth of its foreign operations, as it struggles to regain its footing in the domestic market during the pandemic.
Last year AGI received a big boost from the increasing contribution of its foreign operations, particularly from the global liquor businesses and international property sales, even amid the global pandemic, Kevin Andrew L. Tan, the company’s CEO, said.
“The pandemic brought us a lot of learnings—the most important of which is that it allowed us to validate the soundness of our businesses, as well as the effectiveness of the group’s strategies,” Tan said.
At the height of the pandemic and the hard lockdowns that brought economic activity in the country at a standstill last year, AGI’s revenues received a significant uplift from its international whisky and brandy operations under Emperador Inc.
Its whisky business is held by wholly-owned Scotland-based Whyte and Mackay, while its premium Brandy de Jerez operations are carried out by Bodegas Fundador in Spain. Emperador contributed the biggest share of 41 percent to AGI’s consolidated revenue during the period. The company said its single malt and blended whisky brands continue to enjoy prominence in the global market. “To date, The Dalmore, Jura and Tamnavulin have joined the list of the Top 25 Global Single Malt Brands, while all of Whyte and Mackay’s single malt whisky brands are growing in the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, Canada and Asia,” Tan said.
AGI’s foreign property sales, through Megaworld International, also delivered significantly for the group despite the pandemic.
Megaworld International, the global sales and marketing arm of Megaworld Corp., which has presence in more than 60 countries around the world, typically contributes a quarter of total real estate sales every year.
About 50 percent of its foreign sales come from North America, with the balance accounted for by homebuyers in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
At the height of the community lockdowns in several countries abroad, the group also contributed support to many Filipino communities who were affected by the mobility restrictions as part of its corporate social responsibility.
Aside from international sales, Megaworld also derived increased contribution from its residential projects outside of Metro Manila as part of its geographic diversification strategy. At a time when consumer preference has shifted to the areas outside of the metro, which can offer more open spaces, Megaworld’s provincial residential projects served as its primary source of reservation sales.
“AGI is set to pursue more township projects outside of Metro Manila, contributing strongly to future sales, backed by over 4,300 hectares of developable land throughout the country,” Tan said.
AGI has varied interests spanning real estate developments through Megaworld, liquor maker Emperador Inc., gambling and leisure arm Travellers International Hotel Group Inc., Golden Arches Development Corp. which owns McDonald’s Philippines and infrastructure development through Infracorp.
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