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JACINTO C. NG JR. #HIEF %XECUTIVE /FkCER Elanvital Enclaves Inc., Joy Nostalg Group
SUNDAY MAY 12, 2019 Email: bizreports@manilatimes.net
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He may be a son of privilege, but he has long been concerned about the lack of shelter for many low-income families. With thorough research, he designed a housing scheme that is affordable and needs no equity to obtain a loan
The good steward ABOUT ME ROLE MODELS My father and mother for showing me how to be a good and persevering person. Another is my friend John Ong, who always reminds me to face any situation with a “loving response,� and lastly, Jesus Christ, as I feel happiest when I feel I’m being like Him.
BY THERESE NECIO-ORTEGA JACINTO C. Ng. Jr. — “Jack� as he is known to all — was already in business as a youngster. The current treasurer of Republic Biscuit Corp. (Rebisco), the 56-year-old San Juan bakery founded by his father Jacinto Ng Sr. and director of several companies didn’t quite get to enjoy his weekends as a free agent. “From my early grade school days, I would help my mom every Saturday prepare the payroll and pay slips,� Jack recalls. “I physically had to compute and help put the checks in the respective envelopes for every employee. I also assisted her in preparing the deposit slips.� This eldest of four siblings, followed by Jonathan, Jacob and Julie, was under the constant tutelage of his father Jacinto Sr. and mother Anita Co Ng, who served AS THE COMPANY S CHIEF kNANCIAL OFkCER Jack grew up in a compound in Novaliches where their home nested above THE OFkCE AND WAS ADJACENT TO THE FACTORY that produced the popular Rebisco biscuits. (Remember Marie and Party Mix cookies?) Days were long for him as they started very early. “I would be awake by 3:30 a.m. to make the journey [to Xavier School in San Juan] since we had to be in school prior to the bell at 7 a.m. every day,� Jack recounts. Sometime in the early 1980s, the family moved to Wack Wack subdivision, Mandaluyong to be closer to school, thus cutting the travel time by half. Studies and involvement in company operations made the Ng kids thoroughly appreciate Sundays. Says Jack: “That’s when we spent time together. We would start with Mass in Novaliches, then proceed to either lunch in a Chinese restaurant or at Ferino’s for their good food and bibingka (rice cake). Then, we would watch an English movie in Cubao OR A #HINESE kLM IN /NGPIN ;-ANILA= u Jack completed his BS Architecture degree at the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City in 1992, following an inclination toward real estate DEVELOPMENT !FTER GRADUATION HE lEW TO Taipei to intern with the Hong Kuo company, owned by his father’s friend, C.Y. Lee, who exposed him to “really strong buildings.� He continues: “I credit my love for architecture and design to him. He taught me early on to celebrate and cherish one’s culture, understand the meaning of work, discipline and perfection, and adopt strong attention to detail.� He recalls that the master even had a tatami room *APANESE STYLE ROOM WITH lOORS OF STRAW
GOAL
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To be like the light of the sun to others
FIRST PAYCHECK
I am blessed to have my dad, who is entrepreneurial, and my mom, who does the right thing for the right reasons. [Their way of doing things] is not taught in school, but is so important in the university of hard knocks. matting) for meditation to which he retired to after work. In 1991, aware of the severe housing dearth for the country’s lower- to middleincome class and lack of players serving the sector, Jack launched Earth and Style Corp., targeting a middle-income clientele. “We focused on the South, identifying potential growth areas and providing an affordable price point, quality product and a good location.� Meanwhile, Jack’s father, Jacinto Sr., decided that each of his children develop their own line of expertise and areas of specialization. This would ensure that the SIBLINGS WOULD NOT HAVE TO kGHT FOR THEIR share of the pie and stressed the tenet THAT gFAMILY SHOULD ALWAYS COME kRST u The patriarch also emphasized that “none of his children should have or exercise a sense of entitlement,� and that the businesses should be kept at arm’s length from each other. He also pointed out to them the goals of seeking excellence, competence and no conveniences from each other’s line of businesses in order to maintain integrity, transparency and good governance. The Joy-Nostalg (JN) company was established in 1997 and with it, the JN Foundation, which is values-based and works to empower people with knowledge. Staff volunteer four hours of service each month to the community and make their “HELP� — Home Empowerment Learning Programme — a reality. In 2012, Jack launched Elanvital to support a gnawing housing issue that had concerned him for many years. At the time, there was a 5-million backlog in proper housing facilities. Hence, his RESPONSE WAS TO kLL THE NICHE AND THENEED for “socialized housing,� using a low-tech model without charging for any equity on the housing loan. He explains: “My idea was to work with Pag-IBIG for an effective collection system, providing affordable housing products without need for equity to obtain the loan. I worked it out by looking
The first paycheck I received was when I worked as an intern in Taiwan. It was about NT$20,000 (P35,500 in today’s currency). It was unexpected to receive a salary, and a sizable amount at that. I insisted on returning it, but they told me to just keep it. I then used that money to buy my family gifts.
MORNING ROUTINE I don’t eat breakfast. I used to live in distant Novaliches and would rush in the morning to go to school. It became a habit.
SPECIAL SKILLS They say I’m good at taking selfies and photos, either with a cellphone or with a camera. I can also be very perceptive of a person’s character.
TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA It’s mostly to document moments of my life that I treasure — my time with my family and posting my thoughts and reflections.
Q (Top) Jack (center) posing with the senior management team of his Raemulan Land in front of their newly built Pasinaya Homes project in Naic, Cavite; (bottom) sharing the award from Pag-IBIG Fund for Raemulan Land, which boasts of one of the best Take Out Loan Value for the first semester of 2018, with his staff. AT ALL THE EFkCIENCIES POSSIBLE HOUSE SIZES start at 18 to 32 square meters) and sacrikCING ON THE PROkT MARGINS EACH HOUSE is sold at P450,000 with 30 years to pay), so that people could have a place they could call their home and start building good memories and values to raise their children. “We sell an average of 200 to 300 units per month,� Jack beams. His parents, Jack considers to be his
greatest mentors and role models in both his personal and professional lives. He says: “I am blessed to have my dad, who is entrepreneurial, a numbers person, is data driven and requires feasibility studies and proof of concept on paper, and my mom, who is disciplined in money matters and in doing what is right for the right reasons. “[Their way of doing things] is not usually taught in school, but is so important in the university of hard knocks.�
Jacinto Sr. turned Rebisco group’s banking unit Asia United Bank (AUB) into a publicly traded company, and after 20 years at the helm, he relinquished his post as chairman and announced his retirement as AUB’s chairman emeritus in late 2017. His namesake does him proud, serving as director of the following companies: Rebisco, Asia United Insurance Corp., Manila Bay Development Corp., Highlands Prime Inc., and Quantuvis Resources Corp. as well as nonexecutive director of Belle Corp. since August 2000. Jack is married to Rachel and together, they have four children — JP, Joey, Josh and Ania. There is a running joke that Jack is “obedient� to his parents by even following the number of children and the order of the gender of the children. Summing up, Jack says: “I think if we kND OUR SENSE OF PURPOSE AND WORK ON this earth with passion and joy, keep our focus on God, family, country and the environment, go through life with a sense of respect, kindness and compassion and a sense of gratefulness, then we would be doing our share of stewardship. “And that would make a difference in the lives of others and also make way for the next generations to inherit a better world.�
