Eight of the country’s largest corporations—the holding firms of Philippine conglomerates and some of their large operating units—were named among the world’s biggest public companies in a list published by US-based business magazine Forbes.
Together, these Filipino corporate giants on the list had a combined market value of $72.4 billion or P3.6 trillion at current exchange rates.
Their combined sales hit a total of $40.6 billion, or P2 trillion, accounting for roughly 14 percent of the country’s $300-billion economy.
In terms of asset concentration, these eight firms held $176.6 billion worth of assets, equivalent to P8.8 trillion pesos.
The Forbes list was led by SM Investments Corp. of the Sy family at the 823rd spot on the 2,000-company roster. The family’s patriarch, Henry Sy Sr., is also listed by the influential magazine as the country’s richest man.
SMIC booked $7.3 billion in sales last year, $650 million in profits, $17.3 billion in assets, and $17.8 billion in market value.
Not surprisingly, the second largest publicly listed Filipino firm is another Sy firm, BDO Unibank, coming in at the 1,018th spot.
This was followed by JG Summit Holdings Inc., the flagship company of the Gokongwei family, at the 1,151st spot.
“Forbes’ 2017 Global 2000 list faces much pressure amid unsteady geopolitical climates and slowing economies,” Forbes Media’s deputy editor for investing Halah Touryalai 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.”
“Despite slowing GDP figures, China and the US, whose companies make up more than 40 percent of the list, continue to dominate the top 10 list with financial giants,” he added. “This list illustrates that in spite of headwinds, the world’s dominant companies remain a steady force in an unpredictable and challenging environment.”
Taking fourth place among Filipino corporate giants was Ayala Corp., controlled by the Zobel family, with a global rank of 1,176.
This was followed by Top Frontier Investment Holdings of Ramon Ang at the 1,228th spot. The holding firm has interests in the energy sector and also holds the businessman’s stake in conglomerate San Miguel Corp.
Rounding out the list of the largest Philippine listed firms were Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. of taipan George Ty (1,531st globally); Aboitiz Equity Ventures of the Aboitiz family (1,793rd), and Manila Electric Co., the country’s largest electricity distributor, controlled by the Metro Pacific group of Manuel Pangilinan (1,947th).
The ranking is based on a mix of four metrics: sales, profits, assets and market value.
Forbes’ list revealed that China’s banking giants hold steady at the top of the 2017 Global 2000 list. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China has been No. 1 for the fifth consecutive year. China Construction Bank remains No. 2. The other two of China’s “Big Four” banks – Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China – dropped down on the list, but remained in the top 10. Berkshire Hathaway, the largest company in the United States, moves one spot up to No. 3. Others in the top 10 are JPMorgan Chase (No. 4), Wells Fargo (No. 5), Agricultural Bank of China (No. 6), Bank of America (No. 7), Bank of China (No. 8), Apple (No. 9) and Toyota Motor (No. 10).