Henry Sy, chairman emeritus of SM Investments, one of the Philippines' largest conglomerates, died Saturday morning, according to a statement from SM. Sy’s family-owned SM Investments is the holding company for SM Retail, the country’s largest chain of department stores and supermarkets, SM Prime, the country’s largest shopping mall operator, as well as BDO Unibank. Born in 1924 in Fujian province, he went to the Philippines at the age of 12 and got his start in the retail business by selling goods in his father’s neighborhood store. Sy has also been credited with helping to spur the “malling culture” in the Philippines, where the country’s tropical climate often makes shopping outdoors an uncomfortable experience. In 1996, it became a universal bank and the name was changed to the current Banco de Oro Universal Bank (BDO Unibank).

Source: Forbes January 19, 2019 12:10 UTC