Jan Louie Ngo sets sights on televison and beyond

Three months before his reign ends as Mister Chinatown Philippines, hunky Filipino-Chinese Jan Louie Ngo said that he is ready to embark on a new journey on television and even trading.

"It was great actually. Before, I came from the bank, I was actually a trader there, foreign exchange. After I won, sobrang nagbago ang life ko," said Ngo, during an interview at the launch of Mister Universe Tourism 2017 pageant at Brown Restaurant in Mandaluyong City on June 28.

"Right now, I'm one of the hosts of 'Swak na Swak' on ABS CBN. From the transition there, from a banker to ABS CBN, I was empowered because of Mister and Miss Chinatown Philippines.

"After my reign, right now, I am still with Sun Life as financial adviser. I will pursue hosting even more," said Ngo.

In fact, Ngo will leave for China soon to study broadcasting there. "For a short period of time lang naman. It's a scholarship I got from Ateneo de Manila."

When not busy, Ngo is into basketball and plays the guitar. He also gave a thumbs up to movie projects or teleseryes. "Movies and teleseryes are okay. Why not? But I really prefer hosting. I give talks din kasi eh."

The 23-year-old Filipino-Chinese already appeared in "Mano Po 7: Chinoy" late last year. "I had a short stint in 'Mano Po' as one of the friends of Enchong Dee."

If there's one actress he would love to star with, it would be actress Liza Soberano. "Kahit kapatid lang n'ya sa pelikula OK na!"

Ngo, who graduated financial management from the De La Salle University on Taft Avenue in Manila, is in a relationship these days. Yet what many people do not know is that Ngo is very up-to-date when it comes of financial rates, foreign exchange, and economy.

"Familiar ako sa mga rates at takbo ng ekonomiya. I watch a lot of business news on television and I read all about the economy in the newspaper. Gumawa na rin ako ng games sa kids," added Ngo.

When Ngo joined the "Chinatown" contest last year, his advocacy focused on financial literacy for kids. "I went to Binondo schools for one month and I had a series of talks there."

Ngo gave three saving tips for children:

1) Financial habit - "Once they get there, they have to learn to automatically save. Before we actually spend, we have to save first."

2) Have an open mind about investing - "In an ASEAN financial literacy study, we ranked second to the lowest. Ang ganda ng ekonomiya natin pero financial literacy bagsak tayo. Did you know that 18 years old pa lang pwede na mag-invest? Pag wala ka pang 18 years old, pwede rin naman basta with parents' consent. The point is Chinese people get am pao during Christmas, New Year, and birthdays. Ang tanong ko 'ano ang nangyari sa mga perang yun?' Hopefully they have an open mind about investing."

3) Work hard for every penny - "No matter how hard you work, you can't put everything in the bank. So I just want them to know that, it's not saying that 'wag na kayong magkaroon ng bangko. Pero medium and long term means kailangan nilang i-assess yun. Ang bangko is .25 percent lang ang interest while time deposit naman is one percent. Ang inflation natin is four percent. So kung kumita ka ng one percent, talo ka ng fiur percent, talo ka pa rin."

Ngo will relinquish his title at the 2017 Mister and Miss Chinatown Philippines contest at the Solaire Theater on Sept. 1. - ROBERT REQUINTINA