Suntrust only Filipino firm in Forbes Asia’s ‘200 Best Under A Billion’ 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Real estate developer Suntrust Home Developers was the sole Filipino company who made it to Forbes Asia’s “200 Best Under A Billion” this year.

Forbes released Thursday its list of 200 small and midsized enterprises in the Asia-Pacific region with sales under $1 billion and strong earnings growth.

According to Forbes, Suntrust has a market cap of $31 million and has registered $11 million in sales as of July 2019.

Some 19,000 companies were screened based on “profitability, growth and modest indebtness” until it was narrowed down to 200, Forbes said.

“The Best Under A Billion list demonstrates the dynamism of Asia’s small and medium-sized businesses in creating value across the region,” Forbes Asia editor Justin Doebele noted.

“Some of Asia’s biggest success stories, such as Alibaba, were formerly on the Best Under A Billion list,” he added.

However, the total market value of this year’s class fell to 10% to $228 billion compared to last year’s batch.

Forbes said this was because the “trade war between China and the United States dampened investor sentiment.” /kga