owned by Filipino entrepreneurs of Chinese ancestry. Large scale commercial real estate projects such as the Eton Centris in Pinyahan, the Shangri-La Plaza in Mandaluyong and the Tagaytay Highlands Golf Club and Resort development in Tagaytay City were testaments of such joint projects undertaken by Chinese Filipino real estate developers. These corporate partnerships were largely forged by Overseas Chinese business tycoons such as the investor Liem Sioe Liong, businessman Robert Kuok and dealmakers Andrew Gotianun, Henry Sy, George Ty and Lucio Tan. Filipinos of Chinese ancestry also pioneered the Filipino shipping industry which eventually germinated into a major industry sector as a means of transporting goods cheaply and quickly between the islands. Filipino entrepreneurs of Chinese ancestry have remained dominant in the Philippines's maritime shipping industry and in sea transport as it was one of the few efficient methods of transporting goods cheaply and quickly across the country, with the Philippines geographically being an archipelago, comprising more than 1000 islands and inlets. There are 12 Chinese Filipino business families engaged in inter-island transport and shipping, particularly with the shipping of food products requiring refrigeration amounting to an aggregate capitalization of 10 billion pesos. Taiwanese expatriate investors have participated in various joint ventures, opening up new shipping lanes on the route between Manila and Cebu. Prominent shipping companies owned by Filipinos of Chinese ancestry include Cokaliong Shipping Lines, Gothong Lines, Lite Shipping Corporation, Sulpicio Lines which was associated with a tragedy that led to the deaths of hundreds and Trans-Asia Shipping Lines. One enterprising and pioneering Chinese Filipino entrepreneur was William Chiongbian, who established William Lines in 1949, which by the end of 1993, became the most profitable inter-island Filipino shipping line ranking first in terms of gross revenue generated as well as net income among the country's seven biggest shipping companies. Currently, the Filipino inter-island shipping industry is dominated by four Chinese-owned shipping firms led by William Chiongbian's William Lines. Likewise, Filipinos of Chinese ancestry also own all of the major airlines in the Philippines, including the flagship carrier Philippine Airlines, AirphilExpress, Cebu Pacific, South East Asian Airlines, Manila Air and Zest Air. As the ethnic Chinese economic might grew, much of the indigenous Filipino majority were gradually driven out into poorer land on the hills, on the outskirts of major Filipino cities, or into the mountains. Disenchantment grew among the displaced indigenous Filipinos who felt they were unable compete