In the Philippines, 100,000 to 200,000 new Chinese immigrants have become billionaires through hard work, injecting new vitality into the Philippine economy.
Divisoria was once a Chinese district designated by Spanish colonial rulers in the 16th century, and it was the largest bulk goods center in the Philippines at that time, but it declined in the 18th century. Today, the Divisoria market has regained its former vitality, with about 70% of goods in the Philippines coming from wholesalers in Divisoria or Chinatown. The goods distributed from the Divisoria market are particularly inexpensive, largely due to the presence of new Chinese immigrants.
The Chinese community in the Philippines generally believes that this new wave of Chinese immigration helps restore Manila's vitality as the trade and business center of the Philippines.
Chinese immigrants seem to have an innate ability for business and profit-making. In fact, most of the Chinese tycoons in the largest banks, factories, or enterprises in the Philippines are first-generation immigrants from China, and they all started their journeys in Manila's Chinatown. This includes the president of Philippine Airlines and tobacco magnate Lucio Tan, food industry tycoon Andrew Tan, mall magnate Edgar Sia, president of Capital Bank, Zheng Shaojian, the late real estate tycoon Zheng Zhoumin, and pharmaceutical magnate Yao Zuli, all of whom were born in Fujian. However, Andrew Tan once stated that the most outstanding business leaders in the future of the Philippines will not be the descendants of these Chinese merchants, but rather the small and medium-sized Chinese business owners who are currently striving in Manila's Chinatown.
In the Manila area, two tycoons can be considered the "godfathers" of new Chinese immigrants: 71-year-old Cai Jinchong and 74-year-old Shi Nengzhu, both of whom arrived in the Philippines before World War II. In the 1970s to 1980s, the largest hotel operated by Cai Jinchong became a gathering place for Chinese travelers, who brought large quantities of goods from mainland China, mostly inexpensive ready-made clothing and other textiles.
About a 5-minute walk from the largest hotel, a six-story shopping mall is under construction, owned by 38-year-old billionaire Li Weili. Li Weili is a typical self-made wealthy new Chinese immigrant; when he first arrived in the Philippines in the 1980s, he started selling ready-made clothing from the largest hotel. Today, he owns several sizable shopping malls in the Greater Manila area, becoming a new generation of Chinese tycoons in the Philippines. According to him, more than ten of the new Chinese immigrants who started small businesses with him at the largest hotel have now become billionaires.
The chairman of the Philippine Leisure and Retirement Council, Leviste, revealed that he will implement reforms to make it easier for foreigners to legally reside in the Philippines.
Although some social issues brought by new Chinese immigrants still need to be addressed, this wave of new Chinese immigration, with their dreams of a new life, ambition, and entrepreneurial spirit, is injecting an endless source of vitality into the economy of Manila and the Philippines.
