Our Services

The Wallace Business Forum

COUNTRY RISK ANALYSIS
Our country risk analysis covers the Philippine business environment and its likely direction, assessing the political, economic and social issues confronting the business sector in general, and selected industries in particular. We operate one of the most successful country programs among our associates in Asia. Our Business Forum offers an integrated package of roundtable meetings, peer group discussions and information services designed to assist country managers of multinational and large Filipino firms cope  with changes in the corporate operating environment.

CLIENTS ARE PROVIDED WITH:

ROUNDTABLES. Quarterly roundtable meetings are held where member-clients are given an assessment of the prevailing economic, political, social, and business conditions in the country.  The roundtable looks at how developments in these areas affect the medium-term prospects of the country and provides members an opportunity to interact with senior government officials and other influential decision-makers in a freewheeling, off-the-record discussion of specific issues affecting their business operations. Conclusion papers are printed and distributed after each meeting.

SECTORAL LUNCHES. Private, informal lunches are arranged from time-to-time between senior government officials and the members in the sector under his responsibility.

PEER-GROUP MEETINGS. Small peer-group meetings are held on a regular basis where senior executives discuss specific operating issues and concerns, exchange information and business ideas, share corporate operating experiences, and meet informally with leading government officials.

ON-CALL INFORMATION SERVICE.Member clients have access to our database of economic, political and business information by calling our analysts for–specific information or assistance on the country. Or by accessing our website

PUBLICATIONS

• THE PHILIPPINE ALERT.
• PHILIPPINE WEEKLY UPDATE (PWU).
• THE DAILY NEWS.
• CORPORATE PERFORMANCE SURVEY.
• SPECIAL REPORTS.

PERSONAL COUNSELING

Mr. Wallace has spent over 35 years in Asia, 30 of them in the Philippines.

He was regional manager for a U.S. company for 7 years, before moving to Manila to build a factory for that firm. He moved on to head a Philippine conglomerate for another U.S. firm. This group was involved in food production (as partner with a major local group); truck assembly; rope manufacture; abaca trading; laundry and dyeing; shipping and airline agencies, and ship crewing. He then moved on to head the largest trading company in the Philippines before forming his own business in 1982.

This considerable breadth of experience can be provided at a personal level to CEOs new to the country and in need of quiet guidance to avoid the pitfalls and understand the nuances of doing business in the Philippines and working with Filipinos.

AYC Consulting, Inc.

CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION
The Wallace Business Forum also organizes conferences and seminars. Private and public institutions have tapped the various services of the company, which include solicitation of participants, sponsors, and guest speakers; selection and booking of the venue, arranging hotel accommodation and transportation for participants; preparing conference materials and presentation slides; covering conference proceedings and generating conclusions reports; arranging media relations; and leasing of conference equipment, among others.

The company is fully equipped to handle any conference, seminar or workshop. It has a 100-unit Philips conference system with individual microphone and loudspeaker units which can accommodate up to 250 participants. We also have lapel  and hand-held microphones, audio and video recording equipment, A/V projectors, portable and table-top overhead and slide projectors, to name a few. Our color printers and scanners provide us the capability to make colored imaginative presentations.

Some of the conferences and seminars we have conducted covered the feasibility of making Subic Bay Freeport a printing and publishing center in Asia; the business opportunities conference for the Philippine Assistance Program/Multilateral Aid Initiative; a regional conference of the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chamber of Commerce; a USAID-sponsored seminar on inter-island shipping; an investment familiarization tour; and a conference for one of America’s largest conglomerates, a conference and series of preparatory workshops on identifying the infrastructure needs of the country, etc. We have also conducted in-house briefings for a number of corporations.

POLICY RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY
Our research and advocacy undertaking have helped shape policy-making in the Philippines. We have successfully worked for the enactment of critical reform legislation for the improvement of the country’s investment environment which includes reforms in the foreign investment laws, banking, mining and, political risk insurance, among others.

Investors can benefit from our advocacy campaign service as it complements our other consulting services. For potential investors, we not only provide market information and conduct strategic planning services but also assist them in identifying policy constraints affecting their operations and working through the government to address those policy constraints.

We have provided detailed research papers and recommendations in a number of key areas, including: labour policy, the investment environment, shipping deregulation, bank liberalization, regional development of Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), etc.

CONSULTING

MARKET RESEARCH
Our market research capability has guided the investment decisions of more than a hundred foreign- and locally-based companies. Our market studies have covered industries such as sports drinks, chemicals, plastics, rice hull ash (a filler in toothpaste), methyl esters, cosmetics, welding, sugar, cement, intravenous fluids, car care and household products, automotive, cellular telephones, hotels, coal mining, food packaging, adhesives, shipping, etc.

Aside from conducting studies, we pioneered in an import monitoring program for a major U.S. company in 1986. The project involved monitoring and investigating imports of about 50 chemicals and plastic products entering into the major Philippine ports. The monthly information generated was used to direct the company’s marketing efforts-in terms of pricing, strategic importance of products, customer requirements and regional distribution. This was later expanded to other clients.

INVESTMENT ASSISTANCE
AYC has also been commissioned to provide consulting services to evaluate the investment options of various global companies. Some of AYC’s activities in this field have included: Establishment of a joint venture for a group of companies engaged in abaca trading to regain their viability in the industry; Evaluation of a joint venture agreement of a world-wide producer of wines and liquor; Provision of an equity partner for a toy manufacturing venture; and, market entry facilitation for  a major diversified company in the food industry and in the retail sector.

COMPANY-SPECIFIC

FEASIBILITY STUDY
We have helped companies decide the appropriate location for manufacturing facilities, the most efficient way to ensure raw material supply, how to acquire a major trading firm, the creation of an appropriate corporate vehicle to address expansion plans, the conversion of a debt owed into equity, and the most suitable way to recover financial exposure in losing firms.

We have also guided companies on entering into new products, services or markets.

As an example: AYC was engaged by a multinational group of investors to conduct three separate feasibility studies to determine the appropriate location, the adequacy of raw material supply, and the economic viability in current markets of a proposed sucro-chemical plant to be built in the Philippines.

STRATEGIC PLANNING
We have had considerable involvement in strategic planning for several government agencies and private businesses. Our expertise has been tapped in formulating long-tem development plans for various industrial sectors, conducting privatization studies, evaluating divestiture programs, and establishing management systems, among other thins. Aside from conducting studies, companies also engage the services of our principal as adviser in their strategic planning.

Projects have included:
Corporate Strategy, for a highly diversified multinational company that had been operating in the Philippines for over 76 years; Divestiture of the National Food Authority (NFA); A ten-year development plan for selected industries; Accelerated agricultural production to assist in establishing an effective management and service-oriented system for the Department of Agriculture; Developing a grains stabilization policy; A study of the investment policy environment; Validation of the concept of a Regional Enterprise Development project to help SMEs develop in the countryside; Preparation of a paper to support the position of 20 American pharmaceutical companies on a number of issues relevant to a proposed new drug policy for the Philippines. Development of position papers and support materials to  promote the opening-up of the banking sector to more foreign banks. A white-paper on the problems facing foreign investors that detailed both the general and industry-specific areas of concern to both existing and potential investors. And so on.

PRINT MEDIA MONITORING SERVICE
We monitor major local broadsheets, both printed and online versions, for topics/ categories specified by our clients. A photocopy of all items (articles, announcements, advertisements, etc.) in the broadsheets covering the required topics/ categories are provided to the client daily.  We’ve been providing service since AYC started in 1982.  Our clients include companies in the tobacco, paint, medical, banking and finance industries. 

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