Gokongwei Group: Growing through strategic investments and partnerships
Serve a growing middle class with rising disposable incomes in the Philippines and Asia.
Founded by one of the country’s post-war taipans John Gokongwei Jr., the Gokongwei Group of Companies—led by publicly-listed JG Summit Holdings Inc.— is one of the largest and most diversified Filipino conglomerates, engaged primarily in businesses that serve a growing middle class with rising disposable incomes in the Philippines and Asia.

JG Summit started in 1957 when Universal Corn Products, Inc. was established to operate a cornstarch plant in Pasig. Since then, JG Summit has pioneered breakthroughs, broadened its enterprise, and stayed at the forefront in every phase of the country’s rise to development. Lance Gokongwei is JG Summit Holdings president and CEO.
It invested in agribusiness and the manufacture of feeds and prime food commodities and expanded into financial services, textile, property, power, tele communications, petrochemicals, cement, and air transportation.
Its largest subsidiary, Universal Robina Corporation, is one of the fastest growing snack-food and beverage companies in the ASEAN region.
The firm also pioneered the budget airline concept in the Philippines through Cebu Pacific Air which is now the country’s largest domestic airline carrier with a growing international network.
Its real estate arm Robinsons Land Corporation is among the leading mixed-use property developers in the country while JG Summit Olefins Corporation is the country’s first and only integrated petrochemical manufacturing operation that’s poised to serve the requirements of the local manufacturing sector.
The Gokongwei Group also includes Robinsons Retails Holdings Inc. which was in 1980 as a small department store in Robinsons Place Manila. It now stands as one of the largest multi-format retailers in the country.