Thread by @olliekarp

For today's #dailysoup, I'll introduce Dennis Uy. A Filipino businessman known to be the founder of Udenna Corporation, a major petroleum x shipping company in my country, he is shrouded with business controversies.

More info in this 🧵.

1/22

Hailing from Davao City, Uy began his business career by setting up a barbecue store named "Dencio's Kamayan", which grew into a small retail chain.

2/22

Then, in 2002, Uy founded the Udenna Company, a conglomerate comprising of a gas station chain (Phoenix Petroleum Philippines), a convenience store chain (FamilyMart), a logistics firm (Chelsea Holdings), as well as Enderun Colleges, Clark City Global Corporation,...

3/22

...Dito Corporation, and hospitality x food firms.

In 2011, the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BoC) filed a complaint against Dennis Uy's Phoenix Petroleum for "fraudaulently importing petroleum via Davao and Batangas for approximately Php6B from 2010-11".

4/22

The BoC added that from 2010-11, Phoenix Petroleum allegedly imported petroleum five times without a permit, while in early 2011, Phoenix allegedly made ten more petroleum imports without permits.

doj.gov.ph/news_article.h…

5/22

However, Uy denied the allegations, saying that he never received any notices and Phoenix already filed import permits before the date of importation of the petroleum.

lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2…

6/22

In 2012, a panel of judges decided to dismiss the "fraudaulent imports" case against Phoenix Petroleum for lacking evidence.

Although Leila de Lima tried to reverse the decision, the Philippine Supreme Court made it clear that there's no evidence.

rappler.com/business/supre…

7/22

In the mid to late 2010s, Dennis Uy bought a lot of firms from various industries, including telecommunications, hotel and tourism, education, and shipping.

8/22

Although Dennis Uy managed to earn billions from creating a solid business empire, Filipino business tycoons connected this to the rise of a pro-China Filipino leader named Rodrigo Duterte in 2016.

9/22

Dennis Uy is a long-time friend of Duterte, especially when they are both from Davao. He ended up donating funds worth Php30M to Duterte's campaign during the 2016 elections.

Then, in 2017, Duterte became a resource person for the...

rappler.com/nation/175316-…

10/22

...10th anniversary of Uy's Phoenix Petroleum. Moreover, Duterte even appointed Uy as his presidential advisor for sports-related affairs.

11/22

In the late 2010s, Dennis Uy initiated loans from several banks, including a Php5.4B loan from the Bank of China, which is owned by the CCP.

Uy's Bank of China loan was a part of the "credit deals" that Duterte gained after announcing my country's "pivot to China".

12/22

In 2019, Dennis Uy partnered with China Telecom, a CCP-owned telecom firm, to invest Php279B on Misaltel, aiming to become my country's third major teleco firm after PLDT and Globe.

However, critics feared that this would invite...

rappler.com/business/22909…

13/22

...China Telecom to initiate Chinese espionage activities in my country, which is experiencing staunch tensions with China.

Then, Misaltel became DITO, which is still owned by China Telecom, later sanctioned by the US in the early 2020s for "suspicions of Chinese spying".

14/22

In early 2020, Dennis Uy's Udenna Corporation bought Chevron's 45% stake in the Malampaya gas field, located in Palawan, for Php30.6B.

However, there were fears that Uy buying a stake of the Malampaya gas field would...

asia.nikkei.com/Business/Busin…

15/22

...increase Chinese influence in Philippine territory, especially when the Malampaya is located near the West Philippine Sea while one of Uy's firms is controlled by a sanctioned Chinese firm.

Moreover, Uy's financial sustainability coz of rising debts from his loans,...

16/22

...as well as his lack of experience in the gas sector and his alliance with a pro-China Filipino leader, added to the fears surrounding Uy's Malampaya deal, thus leading to drama in the Philippine government x debates in the Philippine populace.

17/22

During a 2021 hearing, Uy tried to defend his Malampaya deal, saying that it would be "...beneficial for the country."

Complainants accused Uy for graft x corruption, nepotism, and threatening national security.

thecaravelgu.com/blog/2021/11/2…

18/22

Moreover, fears were raised in the hearing stating that Uy owning Malampaya would pave the way to China controlling Philippine oil and gas infrastructure, especially in the disputed West Philippine Sea, which is also known for containing a lot of oil.

19/22

Uy has relations with CCP-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC), especially for making a natural gas facility in Batangas serving as an alternative to the Malampaya.

CNOOC became sanctioned by the US coz of its links to the PLA.

bworldonline.com/editors-picks/…

20/22

Dennis Uy's past bank loans, as well as the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, left Uy with incurring debts that in 2022, he agreed to sell the Malampaya to another well-known Filipino businesman, Enrique Razon.

forbes.com/sites/jonathan…

21/22

Desperate to pay off debts, Dennis Uy tried to make a partnership deal with Razon to save his casino business from debts.

Due to Uy's current financial history, Razon backed out from the partnership deal with Uy, leaving him in "search mode".

google.com/amp/s/www.phil…

22/22

Other sources:
1. philstar.com/business/2021/…
2. rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/1…
3. google.com/amp/s/newsinfo…
4. legacy.senate.gov.ph/press_release/…
5. commsupdate.com/articles/2019/…
Past soups: bit.ly/thedailysoup
Similar soups:
1. CHEC x CCCC

https://twitter.com/olliekarp/status/1628479298733735937?s=20

2. Manuel Mamba

https://twitter.com/olliekarp/status/1638864444221693953?t=CbQuZ5i-eSspjHU2XvYspw&s=19

APPENDIX: While Dennis Uy remains indebted, Filipino witnesses began to see the financial fallout in his businesses.

For example, many are seeing Family Mart stores being abandoned while one noticed that "Enderun staff are already leaving".

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