*  *  *  The officers and members of the Chinese-Filipino Business Club, Inc. led by President Rufino Ko Pio, special guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Thank you for inviting me to join you at your 4th National Convention. I am truly glad for this opportunity to be with you. Chinese-Filipino businessmen represent a very important segment of the Philippine economy.
* * * Valuable comments from Sitikantha Pattanaik, Rajeev Jain, Binod B Bhoi, Abhilasha and editorial help from Vineet Kumar Srivastava are gratefully acknowledged.