BIZ BUZZ: Ayala, San Miguel lead PH’s best

Six Filipino corporations made it to the inaugural list of the world’s best companies compiled by market and consumer data research firm Statista and published by Time Magazine this week.

That statistic becomes even more impressive given that only these six homegrown firms made it to the top global rankings in a field of 750 corporate icons that were selected based on employee satisfaction, revenue growth and sustainability.

The top Filipino firm on the list was Ayala Corp. of the Zobel family—the country’s oldest conglomerate—with a rank of 309. It had an overall score of 83.66, a sustainability rank of 535 and an employee satisfaction rank of 73. Its growth rate was classified as “moderate”.

The next Filipino firm listed by Statista was San Miguel Corp.—the Philippines largest conglomerate, which is also controlled and run by tycoon Ramon Ang—with a rank of 347. It had an overall score of 83.08, a sustainability rank of 712 and an employee satisfaction rank of 67. The list unsurprisingly described its growth rate as “very high”, given its massive infrastructure projects currently in the pipeline.

Ranked 421st, meanwhile, was Jollibee Foods Corp. of billionaire Tony Tan Caktiong which had an overall score of 81.94, a sustainability rank of 683 and an employee satisfaction rank of 57. Its growth rate was classified as “high”.

Coming in at rank 609 was PLDT Corp. chaired by tycoon Manuel Pangilinan. It had an overall score of 78.71, a sustainability rank of 454 and an employee satisfaction score of 317. Statista classified the telecommunications giant’s growth rate as “moderate”.

The next Filipino firm on the list at rank 634 was Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. controlled by the Ty family, which had an overall score of 78.12, a sustainability rank of 731 and an employee satisfaction rank of 116. Its growth rate was classified as “high”.

The final Filipino company on the list with a rank of 647 was the Sy family’s BDO Unibank, which is also the country’s largest financial institution. It has an overall score of 77.85, a sustainability score of 615 and an employee satisfaction score of 173. Its growth rate was described as “moderate”.

Hopefully, more Filipino firms will be inspired to emulate their peers on this list and be included in next year’s edition.

—Daxim L. Lucas

Good news for Filinvest

It’s been a challenging year for small stockholders of Filinvest REIT Corp. during the current market slump, but the company has some good news.

We’re talking about the recent International Business Awards or The Stevies. The real estate investment trust of property giant Filinvest Land won the bronze award in the sustainability leadership category.

This is a new category, which makes Filinvest REIT among the first in the world to win the recognition, the company said.

“We are thrilled to receive this Stevie as it further solidifies [Filinvest REIT] position as a leader among sustainable REITs in Asia, Australia, & New Zealand,” said company president and CEO Maricel Brion-Lirio.

Investors are, no doubt, happy as well as they wait for the stock market downtrend to reverse course.

—Miguel R. Camus