Journalism – Page 2 – Lala Rimando

[2009] Lopez family: Sale of Meralco stake ‘a business decision’

This was among the few times the Lopez family members admitted publicly the pain and rift behind-the-scenes in the deals involving Meralco, the business power company in the country they once controlled. This was published in 2009 on the news sites of ABS-CBN and Newsbreak, both of which are now dead links. Reposting the story’s…

[2008] The inside story: How San Miguel worked its way into Meralco’s board

NOTE: This was a story I wrote piecing together the inner workings of a business deal announced to a shocked Manila business community in 2008. From various interviews, I learned how Ramon Ang’s weekend visit to Cebu to charm Winston Garcia of state pension fund GSIS resulted in last minute changes on who the Lopez…

The INQUIRER story

This Inquirer story is about leadership and the messy business of letting go.

LALA’s BOOK NOTES: ‘Liem Sioe Liong’s Salim Group: The Business Pillar of Suharto’s Indonesia’

This biography explores how the Salim Group mastered Indonesia’s political economy under Suharto to build a massive conglomerate. When Suharto fell, the empire nearly collapsed. Offshore, Filipino banker Manny Pangilinan fiercely protected their Philippine assets, famously blocking a desperate sale of PLDT to rival tycoon John Gokongwei.

LALA’s BOOK NOTES: Escaño – A Family Portrait

Chronicled in the book, the Escaño family built a historic Philippine shipping and power monopoly. Today, they remain highly relevant through strategic dynastic alliances and diversified modern enterprises. They co-manage the Visayan Electric Company alongside the Aboitiz family, while their Lhuillier branch operates the massive Cebuana Lhuillier network.

Category: Journalism