Forbes Forbes counts eight Philippine firms in top 2000 global list

THE HOLDING FIRM of the country’s richest man, Henry Sy Sr., climbed on Forbes’ 15th Global 2000 list of the world’s biggest public companies, staying atop seven others in the Philippines.

The ranking is based on a mix of four metrics, namely: sales, profits, assets and market value.

Last year saw nine local firms on the roster, including Bank of the Philippine Islands and PLDT, Inc. that dropped out this year.

SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) — which is engaged in property, retail and financial services — ranked 823rd, climbed 41 notches up from last year with $7.32 billion in sales and $17.8 billion in market capitalization as of May.

SMIC’s BDO Unibank, Inc. followed in 1,018th spot, jumping into the list for the first time with $2.59-billion sales and $10.2-billion capitalization.

JG Summit Holdings, Inc. — which is into consumer foods, agro- industrial and commodity food products, real property development and hotels, air transportation, banking, petrochemicals, telecommunications and power distribution — slipped to 1,151st place from 1,129th in 2016, with $4.89-billion sales and market capitalization of $11.6 billion.

Ayala Corp. — whose principal interests are in real estate and hotels, insurance and other financial services, telecommunications, water distribution and wastewater services, electronics, automotive, power generation, transport infrastructure, education and health care — jumped to 1,176th spot from 1,224th in 2016 with $4.2-billion sales and $10.7-billion capitalization.

Tycoon Ramon S. Ang’s Top Frontier Investment Holdings, Inc. — which owns about 66.14% of San Miguel Corp. that is en-

gaged in beverage, food, packaging, properties, fuel and oil, energy, infrastructure, mining and banking — dropped 34 places to 1,228th this year with $14.24-billion sales and $ 1.9- billion capitalization.

Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. fell to 1,531st spot this year from 1,379th in 2016 with $ 1.97- billion sales and $ 5.5- billion capitalization.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. — which is engaged in power distribution, generation and retail electricity supply; financial services; food manufacturing; real estate; and infrastructure — bared the biggest improvement in ranking among Philippine firms included, surging 162 places to 1,793rd spot with $ 2.45- billion ssales and $8.4-billion capitalization.

Finally, Manila Electric Co. — the country’s biggest power distributor — bared the biggest drop among local firms on the list, falling 433 places to 1,947th with $5.42 billion in sales and $6.3 billion in market capitalization.

“Definitely it’s because of the economy of the Philippines. The growing economy of the Philippines is the one pulling themselves up. These companies are the ones who benefit most,” Diversified Securities, Inc. equities trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a telephone interview.

“With BDO, I think it’s because they’re number one in the banking industry. I can see their development in terms of the increasing loans that they’re having.”

The global list was topped by, in descending order: Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.; China Construction Bank; Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Wells Fargo; Agricultural Bank of China; Bank of America; Bank of China; Apple, Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp.

“Forbes’ 2017 Global 2000 list faces much pressure amid unsteady geopolitical climates and slowing economies,” Halah Touryalai, deputy editor for Investing at Forbes Media, said in a statement.

“Yet, in aggregate, these 2,000 companies have managed to come out stronger than last year, with increased sales, profits, assets and market values,” she added.

“This list illustrates that, in spite of headwinds, the world’s dominant companies remain a steady force in an unpredictable and challenging environment.”