Hans Sy is Management Person of the Year

Hans T. Sy is the “Management Person of the Year 2025” of the Management Association of the Philippines, the largest organization of CEOs with over 1,000 members.

- TONY LOPEZ

Hans, 69, is chair of the Executive Committee of SM Prime and chairman of the board of China Banking Corp. A member of the Sy family, which is the richest in the Philippines, Hans is cited for his superior management of both SM Prime and China Bank, with a sharp focus on sustainability and inclusion.

SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPH) is one of the most valuable Philippine public companies (P1.086 trillion or $118.7 billion, fourth highest) and one of the largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia.

SM Prime offers innovative and sustainable lifestyle cities with the development of malls, residences, offices, hotels and convention centers. It is also the largest property company, in terms of assets, in the Philippines.

China Banking Corp. (Chinabank) was founded in 1920. It is the first bank to lend the legendary taipan Henry Sy his loan.

Under Hans, Chinabank has become one of the best managed, fastest growing and most profitable banks in the Philippines. At end-June 2025, Chinabank was ranked by the BSP the fifth largest, with assets of P1.49 trillion, outranking the likes of RCBC, Security Bank, PNB, DBP and Union Bank, in that order.

Has Sy was chosen by MAP as its most outstanding CEO of the year for the following reasons:

1. His lifelong commitment to environmental stewardship, social inclusion, good governance and resilience (ESG-R), establishing SM Prime as a benchmark for sustainable and resilient urban development;