San Miguel Corporation president and CEO Ramon S. Ang received the prestigious French Legion of Honor for his extraordinary contributions in strengthening trade relations between France and the Philippines.
The Legion of Honor with the rank of Officier (Officer) is the highest distinction given by the French government to its military personnel as well as civilians who have rendered exemplary service to France.
Ang joins a short and distinguished list of Filipinos to have received the honor, including past Philippine presidents.
French Ambassador to the Philippines Michèle Boccoz conferred the honor to Ang in an event celebrating 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
During the ceremony at the French Ambassador’s residence, Boccoz thanked Ang “for the role you play as a businessman and as a philanthropist to strengthen those ties between France and the Philippines, and to promote friendship between our two peoples.”
Ang helped in transporting aid from France to the Philippines in the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
He was also lauded for bringing French expertise to SMC’s key infrastructure projects as the conglomerate seeks to uplift the lives of Filipinos and boost the Philippine economy.
Aeroport de Paris Group is one of SMC’s consultants in the development of the New Manila International Airport (NMIA), which is envisioned to be the largest and most modern international gateway in the Philippines.
SMC has also tapped French firm Matiere for its various infrastructure initiatives aimed at decongesting Metro Manila.”
“All of you here witnessing this ceremony today are well acquainted with Ramon Ang’s prestigious career and how under his leadership, San Miguel Corporation grew within a decade to become the Philippines’ top group in terms of market capitalization. As a businessman, sir, you highly contributed to the development of business partnership between our two countries,” Boccoz said.
For his part, Ang said: “This recognition inspires me and my colleagues in San Miguel Corporation — who I proudly share this with — to work even harder to deliver a better future for all and uphold the common values that we stand for and live by. “
“We also believe that pursuing sustainability is essential to achieving this. While we continue to do our part, we know we cannot do it alone. A successful development agenda requires collaboration across borders and amongst governments, businesses and civil society—one that is built upon our shared goals for both our people and our environment, “ said Ang.
