29 Philippines-based firms among Time’s ‘500 Best’ in APAC
Philippines-based conglomerates and banks were recognized as some of the best in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region for showing resilience and prioritizing sustainability amid global geopolitical pressures the past year.
Ranking 46th overall, Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, bested the 28 other local companies included in Time Magazine’s list of 500 Best Companies in the region.
Ayala was followed by San Miguel Corp. (85th), Security Bank Corp. (88th), SM Investments Corp. (109th) and BDO Unibank Inc. (112th).
Also in the Philippines’ Top 10 were Jollibee Foods Corp. (116th), SM Prime Holdings Inc. (121st), Asian Development Bank (172nd), Cebu Pacific Air (178th) and the Aboitiz Group (188th).
These Philippines-based firms stood among some of the region’s largest businesses, including Singapore’s DBS Bank, Malaysia’s Maybank and South Korea’s Kia. According to Time, the companies were ranked based on revenue growth, employee satisfaction surveys, and “rigorous” environmental, social and corporate governance data.
“While much of the world was mired in geopolitical uncertainty during 2024, businesses across the Asia-Pacific enjoyed an upbeat year,” Time said in a statement, noting that “most major bourses” ended last year with gains.
Such is the case for the Philippine Stock Exchange Index, which ended positive for the first time since 2019.
Holding companies
Other holding companies that made the cut were Alliance Global Group Inc. (245th), JG Summit Holdings Inc. (265th) and Filinvest Development Corp. (340th). China Banking Corp. (238th), Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (311th) and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (332nd) joined the banks. Meanwhile, Del Monte Philippines Inc. (320th), Universal Robina Corp. (329th) and Ginebra San Miguel Inc. (345th) were among the five food and beverage companies. Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (211th), Petron Corp. (216th), PLDT Inc. (280th), AboitizPower Corp. (318th), Wilcon Depot Inc. (341st), Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc.(364th), Megaworld Corp. (374th), Puregold Price Club Inc. (381st), EEI Corp. (416th) and Max’s Group Inc. (465th) were also listed.
