TWO years ago, the Asia United Bank (AUB) elected 52-year-old Jonathan Ng as chairman.
He is the second son of Jacinto Ng Sr., founder of AUB and the Republic Biscuit Corp. (Rebisco).
Prior to his promotion as AUB chair, Jonathan was a director of the bank, along with younger brother Jacob.
Jonathan is also the president and chief executive of Rebisco which was founded by Jacinto in 1963 as England Biscuit Factory, then a neighborhood bakeshop on F. Blumentritt St., San Juan, Metro Manila. Eventually, the bakery moved out to a more spacious property in Novaliches, Quezon City.
Rebisco, now a multi-billion-peso conglomerate, had a start-up capital of only $5,000 (roughly P25,000).
Jonathan was AUB director from 1998 to 2016. In the Rebisco Group, he holds sensitive posts as president of Suncrest Foods Inc., president of Multirich Foods Corp., chairman and president of RBC Retail Stores Corp., chairman and president of SFI Multimix Corp., chairman of Omnipack Industrial Corp. and director of SPI Corp.
He is also a stockholder of RBC Best Baker Food Inc. and Action Republic Corp., a trustee of Rebisco Foundation Inc.
Jonathan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University.
Over the years, Rebisco has emerged as a dominant player in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector which covers packaged foods, beverages, toiletries, cosmetics, cleaning supplies and other low-cost household items.
Rebisco has remarkably expanded its product portfolio to include multiple subsidiaries.
In recognition of his proactive and dynamic leadership and sustaining the Rebisco legacy, the Business Manual honored Jonathan with the CEO Awards 2025.
His other awards include the Silver Apple Supplier of the Year Award from the Trade Partners’ Awards, the Asian Export Award (Snack category, Large Corporate division), and the Best Social Media Growth Story Award at the People Insights Awards.
Jonathan is also a sports patron specifically volleyball. He is a big fan of health and wellness, as well as greater public access to information driven by internet usage.
However, he still believes that higher awareness and information on the benefits of healthy offerings have not changed consumer patterns significantly in the Philippines.
He thinks most Filipino consumers still go for conventional products even as industry players continue to introduce and push for low-calorie or low-sugar products.
In a media interview, Jonathan shared that “the provincial market, a big source of strength for FMCG players has been the ability to effectively cater to the general trade or sari-sari stores”
“Despite these stores’ dominance in rural areas, modern trade, whether supermarkets or convenience stores, has steadily been growing in size and reach and have begun to increase in competitiveness and take away sales volume from sari sari stores,” he said.
He said the “expansion of modern trade opens up greater availability to consumers and new channels for FMCG players.”
“This is especially true for those who have found it expensive or difficult to cater to the general trade segment and now have opportunities to tap into a segment other than the traditional Metro Manila market. Given the growing consumer preference for malls, this trend is projected to rise,” he said.
