Merging & Acquisition Expert Helping Bring Foreign Investors to PH
THE PHILIPPINES was once known as “The Pearl of the Orient,” and it seems we’re regaining our shine. Our fast-growing economy continues to attract more businessmen to our shores, bullish investors such as Hideki Tanifuji, Japanese founder and chief executive of Asian Mergers and Acquisition Links (AMAL) .
Tanifuji, together with his growing team of young Filipino professionals, has brought his expertise in the field of Merging and Acquisition (M&A) as well as his thorough understanding of the global market to the country to invite more foreign capital. In fact, with his leadership, AMAL has already closed six deals, five of which were cross-border in just one year.
AMAL was established in 2015 and provides different services including strategy development, corporate valuation, financial consulting, pre- and post-merger evaluation and due diligence works. It also aims to guide businesses and corporations in merging and acquiring companies for business expansion and new industry opportunities.
Tanifuji sees great potential for M&A in the Philippines, and he’s planning to contribute more and more to the country’s economy by bringing foreign investors. For now, three Japanese companies have already invested in the Philippines through AMAL.
“The prospects of growing the business here are very high. Back in 2016, the Philippines has been recognized to be among the countries in the region whose GDP growth is the highest, at 6.8 percent, compared to its neighbors that are still struggling to achieve GDP growth stability. Majority of Filipinos are good English speakers, and the culture and quality of professional manpower are also plus factors,” he says.
Tanifuji considers the Philippines as the top choice for major nations looking for investments or acquisitions in developing countries, making him confident that M&A in the country will go a long way in the years to come.
“This line of business is unique in such a way that all efforts and resources of the company are focused only on providing financial advisory services, hence clients are assured that they will receive dedicated service from the company. Another core strength is that AMAL is an independent firm with no political attachments, has many strong connections with big Japanese companies, and has connections with big foreign companies in Australia, Singapore, and the US,” says AMAL finance director Shaela Mae Claveria.
AMAL brings companies from across the world together through its advisory services and assistance in M&A needs. This entails individual assessment and evaluation of clients, for seamless matching of corporate goals and objectives.
“Due diligence is a later stage in M&A. Most accounting firms are focused on that. For us, while we support due diligence, our focus is to offer the total wholistic M&A package. Functions include tapping clients, introduce clients to M&A, negotiation for evaluations, all the works. Add to this the smart combination of Japanese financial business expertise and Filipino brand of rigor, a core competency that is unique to the Asian M&A Links team,” says AMAL chief operating officer Dinah Ilagan.
While still a considered a young company, AMAL is already one of the biggest in its industry in terms of manpower with 80 employees from the management team, HR, IT staff, accountants, marketing analysts, consultants and foreign language speakers/ translators. The company’s goal is to be the No. 1 M&A company in the Philippines and one of the best in Asia, targeting a workforce of 200 employees by 2020.
AMAL is also aiming to list in the SME board of the Philippine Stock Exchange by the second quarter of 2019. It will be the only M&A firm to be listed in any Asian stock exchange aside from the publicly-listed M&A firms in Japan.
The AMAL main headquarters is located at Bonifacio Technology Center on 31st Street corner Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
via Manila Standard
