Billionaire Dennis Uy did not get rich because of Duterte connection

Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy did not get rich because of his connection with President Rodrigo Duterte, the legal counsel and spokesperson for several of his companies said Thursday.

Mislatel Consortium spokesperson Adel Tamano said Uy became wealthy after decades of business diversifications that started with Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc.

“I think the common misconception is he just got rich during the term of President Duterte, but Mister Dennis Uy built his fortune decades ago when he set up Phoenix and it was publicly listed,” Tamano said in an interview aired on ANC.

“He has Phoenix, which is publicly listed, and Chelsea Logistics Holdings company.”

Phoenix was incorporated on May 8, 2002, and debuted on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on July 11, 2007.

On the other hand, Chelsea Logistics Holdings Corp. was incorporated and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Aug. 26, 2016. Its shares were listed and traded on PSE on Aug. 8, 2017.

Both companies are under Udenna Corp., the flagship holding company for Uy’s business interests which include petroleum, shipping and logistics, real estate and property development, trading and distribution, energy, water, and environmental services.

Udenna Corp. further diversified by entering Mislatel with Chelsea Logistics, China Telecommunications Corp., and Mindanao Islamic Telephone Company Inc.

The Consortium was officially declared as the country’s “New Major Player” in the telecommunications industry last Nov. 19.

At least six officers of the Filipino companies behind the consortium were found to have contributed a total of P35.55 million to Duterte’s campaign kitty for the 2016 presidential elections.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has insisted that Mislatel was not favored by the government to win the third telco slot.

Uy recently went on buying binge, acquiring several companies such as Familymart, Conti’s, and Enderun, among others.

Global Gateway Development Corp. (GGDC), a subsidiary of Udenna Corp., currently holds a 177-hectare leasehold in Clark Freeport Zone in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

Earlier this January, Phoenix Petroleum and partner China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOC) were given the green light to proceed with their liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Batangas.

“So all this talk … ‘Why is he buying this and that?’ Well, he’s buying businesses because he sees the opportunity and because he already has the base,” Tamano noted.

“The point is that it’s not new money. He’s building on his previous success and I think that’s something people tend to forget, or maybe don’t know, because he is a new face in the more public world. But in the business world they’ve known … him … for the past decade,” he said. —VDS, GMA News