Rising tycoon: Megaworld's Tan now heads RP McDonald's grp

Andrew Tan, who heads Megaworld, has been elected chairman of Alliance Global which oversees the local operations of McDonald's, raising hopes that his business acumen may help the fast food giant improve its local sales. Alliance Global's unit Golden Arches Development Corp. operates the McDonald's brand in the Philippines under a franchise agreement with USA’s McDonald’s. McDonald's, the world's number one hamburger chain, only ranks second to homegrown Jollibee Foods Inc. in the Philippines. Dina Inting, Alliance Global first vice president for finance, told GMANews.TV that Chinese-Filipino businessman George Yang – famous for bringing the McDonald’s chain to the Philippines – has passed the torch to Tan, a former vice-chairman at Alliance. Yang now sits as vice-chairman at Alliance Global. "This is the first time that Mr. Tan is taking on the chairmanship of Alliance Global since it became publicly-listed in 1999," Inting said. "He has investments in the company in his personal capacity." Alliance Global is a holdings firm with interests in glass manufacturing, food and beverage trading, fastfood operation, and property development. Rising tycoon Tan, 57, has built Megaworld as one of the country’s leading property firms, with an extensive project pipeline comprising six township projects in Metro Manila. Its flagship project is Eastwood City, a business and retail enclave in Quezon City, which counts Citibank, IBM, and anti-virus firm Trend Micro as among its major tenants. Eastwood City is the country's first information and technology business park specifically targeting business process outsourcing (BPO) companies. It is currently developing McKinley Hills, a high-end township project in Fort Bonifacio, a former military camp. The residential project is 82 percent sold. - GMANews.TV