This is what ten Philippine centavos looked like in 1934, back when we were still part of
the Commonwealth government of the United States. It is also exactly how much Henry
Sy, affectionately called “Tatang,” had when he arrived in Manila as a twelve-year-old
boy.

“In today’s money, it would be worth about PHP 120,” says Eduardo V. Francisco,
President of BDO Capital & Investment Corporation.

The amount is still not much for a young boy in a big city. But for Tatang, it was enough
for the start he needed—not to start a business, but to start dreaming of a better future.
“Even at that age, Mr Sy had the gift of vision, of looking at a far bigger picture. Later in
life, he would be able to see the finer details of that vision until it is fully realized. The
growth of his investment to what we know as SM today is a testament to that,” Mr.
Francisco added.

“From the very start,” Tatang once said, “I knew I had the drive and determination to
make something of myself.”

As his father’s assistant at the sari-sari store they operated in Quiapo, Manila, Tatang
recognized the value of money early on. He saw his father pick up stocks from Divisoria
and bring these to their store on foot. Tatang himself would walk out into the streets to
try to interest customers in their merchandise. Together, they saved every bit they could
scrape from their earnings, hoping to be able to put up more small stores.

Tatang learned the value of financial wisdom early: “I learned from my parents the
importance of hard work and good credit.”

But their moderate success was interrupted by chaos and violence of the Second World
War. The Battle of Manila at the end of the war saw their stores razed to the ground and
their business all but eradicated. Everything they had slowly built was quickly gone, and
along with it, most of their hopes and their savings.

One thing that remained, however, was the hard work Tatang had learned from his
father, and earned in his early years in the city. Determined to rebuild his dreams, he
sought an opportunity that would give him a chance to start something that could grow
bigger, with the little he had left to his name.

The small shoe store Tatang established decades ago would become a chain of shops,
and then a string of malls and department stores. Decades later, he would see his
business flourish into a conglomerate that would enter various other industries.
In 1976, the SM Group would purchase Acme Savings Bank—a thrift bank that would
eventually become Banco De Oro, which would later be renamed BDO. Today, the SM
Group stands as the leading business conglomerate in the country, with further interests
in real estate development, retail, banking and other industries.

Tatang’s dream for a better future began with ten centavos and a deep understanding of
how even a small start can have powerful potential for growth. On this Super Month of
October, Tatang’s birth month, it is a wisdom that SM aims to share with every Filipino
today.