Default Scare Over $4 Million Rocks Philippine Tycoon’s Empire

A dispute over a mere $4 million debt payment involving a Philippine conglomerate is flagging broader concerns about the group’s rapid borrowing in recent years, just as growing threats to the global economy prompt rising risks of nonpayment.

Dennis Uy, an oil trader from the southern city of Davao who counts former president Rodrigo Duterte as a family friend, built a business empire spanning oil, shipping, casinos and telecommunications. That rapid expansion was financed by borrowing that’s now in the spotlight.

A unit of his holding company Udenna Corp. got served with a default notice last week from ...