Shanghai – Consul General Josel F. Ignacio visited the headquarters of Liwayway (China) Co. Ltd., in Qingpu District on 23 July, where he and fellow Consulate officers were warmly received by top management led by Chairman and CEO Mr. Larry A. Chan and Executive Director Mr. Archie A. Chan, together with the company’s Filipino employees.

The Consul General was accompanied by Consul Marlowe A. Miranda, Economic Officer Consul Conrado B. Demdem, Jr., and Tourism Attaché Ireneo H. Reyes. They were toured around the company’s offices and shown the company’s broad and diverse snack product line under the Oishi brand, marketed in China as Oishi 上好佳 (Shanghaojia).

Following the tour, Liwayway executives briefed the Consulate General on the company’s operations and performance in China and elsewhere, as well as on its charitable activities and initiatives to promote people-to-people ties between the Philippines and China.

Consul General Ignacio warmly congratulated Liwayway for its solid gains in China and its support for bilateral ties. “Private enterprises can be a positive force supporting state-to-state relations. Liwayway is one such firm. In Shanghai, the Philippines basks partly in reflected light coming off the good name Liwayway and the Chan family have built. Now a global brand, we wish the company further success”, Consul General Ignacio said.

Showing confidence in China in the 1990s in the early stages of the latter’s vaunted ‘reform and opening up”, Liwayway’s entry encouraged other foreign players to enter the Chinese market, a contribution publicly acknowledged by Chinese officials. For this and the popularity of its products, Oishi was recognized as a “Shanghai Famous Brand” and “Shanghai Famous Trademark” in 2000 and 2001, respectively.

Family patriarch Mr. Carlos Chan, who helmed Oishi’s venturing into China and is currently Presidential Special Envoy to the country, was conferred the city’s Magnolia Gold Award in 1998 and was made Honorary Citizen in 2005. CEO Larry Chan was also bestowed the latter distinction in 2017. Liwayway currently has 13 factories and an extensive network of sales offices in the country, bolstering manufacturing presence and market coverage.

The visit is part of the Consul General’s familiarization tour of Philippine enterprises in the city, with a view to promoting Philippine brands and advancing other key economic diplomacy goals. END