Batu Kawan in 2016 Forbes Asia’s Fabulous 50 List

SINGAPORE: Batu Kawan Bhd is the only Malaysian company to make this year’s Forbes Asia’s Fabulous 50 List (Fab 50).

Batu Kawan is an investment holdingcompanywithsubsidiaries andassociatesinvolvedinchemical manufacturing, transportation, property investment, investment holding and plantations.

In a statement yesterday, Forbes Media said the Fab 50 were selected from a pool of 1,524 public companies in the region, with at least US$1.7 billion (US$1=RM4.03) in annual revenue.

For the first nine months ended June 30, 2016, Batu Kawan had already registered revenue of about US$ 3.05 billion.

Forbes Media said companies are analysed using a battery of more than a dozen financial measures and the list excludes those that have a debt ratio of more than 50 per cent or where the government owns at least half the shares.

The result is the region’s best of the best, it added.

Forbes Media also said the list is an annual honour roll highlighting some of the brightest stars in the Asia Pacific region.

This year marks the 12th edition of the Fab 50 list and the 272 companies that have appeared on it at least once, reflects the changing nature of business in the Asia Pacific region.

Forbes Media said Alibaba Group not only makes its debut this year among the region’s best publicly traded big companies, it also boasts the highest market value of all and outperforms on a range of other metrics.

There are 21 new entrants to this year’s list, it said.

For six years in a row, companies from China dominate the Fab 50 list, with 22.

India claims the second highest number at eight, down from 10 last year and South Korea has the third highest at five, one more than last year.

Hong Kong also make a comeback with three newcomers, said Forbes Media.

Vietnam’s first entrant to the Fab 50 list is Vietnam Dairy Products, while the Philippines has three companies, up from two previously.

Taiwan and Japan have each two this year, with Thailand and Malaysia, one.

Australia returns to the list with biotech pharmaceutical company CSL, after no representation last year.

Sumber Alfaria Trijaya, operator of the Alfamart chain, remains the sole company from Indonesia this year ,while Singapore has no representation. — Bernama

Posing for a photo at the signing ceremony are (from left) CCB general manager of financial markets Gu Yu, Pang, CIMB Group board member Datuk Lee Kok Kwan, CIMB Group global head of tresury sales and forex Thomas Tan, CIMB Group regional head of...