http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryID=39763
By RENE MARTEL

With his historic chain of office dangling from his neck, the 678th Lord Mayor of London, Alderman David Brewer, parks his frame in an armchair in his suite at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel and waxes eloquent about the positive developments he has observed on the business front in the Philippines since he last visited almost a decade ago.

With his historic chain of office dangling from his neck, the 678th Lord Mayor of London, Alderman David Brewer, parks his frame in an armchair in his suite at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel and waxes eloquent about the positive developments he has observed on the business front in the Philippines since he last visited almost a decade ago.

“It’s astonishing how things have changed, and how the economy has grown,” enthuses Brewer who previously used to come to the Philippines quite often as a top executive of a British insurance company.

He adds: “One of your local banks, Banco de Oro, is now quoted on the London Stock Exchange, and three Filipino mining companies are listed in the Alternative Investment Market [AIM] of the London Stock Exchange.”

The London Stock Exchange, with 519 foreign companies listed, sits at the heart of the “Square Mile” (as London’s central business district is called) where $750-billion worth of foreign-exchange turnover (31 percent of the global share) takes place each day.

And presiding over the Square Mile which is unarguably the financial capital of the world—with 242 foreign banks who between them arrange 20 percent of international bank lending, and where 75 percent of the Fortune 500 have offices—is the Lord Mayor of London who officially takes office each November with a colorful parade—complete with horse drawn golden carriage—which is one of the great traditional festivals of London.

Hard as it may be for Filipinos to fathom, the office of Lord Mayor of London is strictly apolitical—though outside the City of London he takes precedence with, but after, members of the British Cabinet. His main role during his tenure, which is limited to one year, is as a dedicated ambassador, promoting the Square Mile as the world’s leading financial and business center.

And it was in this context that Lord Mayor Brewer visited the Philippines with a delegation of top businessmen as part of a Southeast Asia swing to promote UK financial services and share best practices on regulation, prevention of market irregularities and managing risks.
Standard Chartered, the London Stock Exchange, the Futures and Options Association (FOA), Collins Stewart Tullett and International Financial Services London were among the companies in the 14-strong delegation.

Said Lord Mayor Brewer: “Financial services are a key driver of growth and many of the two-dozen countries I have visited as Lord Mayor look to London for advice on keeping standards high and acquiring the right skills and processes. Well-functioning markets are critical to both the ability of a nation to raise funds for development and infrastructure, and also as a solid core for the home financial services industry, and as a provider of employment and creator of wealth.”

The expansive Lord Mayor, who lists chocolate as among his interests (and has the modest girth to show for it!) had the chance to meet with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo during his visit.
He said the President was particularly chuffed when he was able to inform her that one of London’s leading interbank broking firms, Collins Stewart Prebon, was relocating its Far East manager from Tokyo to the Philippines.

Incidentally, the three Filipino mining companies listed in the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange are Forum Energy (with capitalization of £26.95 million). Copper Resources (with capitalization of £40.01 million) and Sino Asia Mining (with capitalization of £1.18 million).

But, as of April 3, Sino Asia Mining has been suspended