MANILA, Philippines – 8 Philippine-listed entities, including those led by the Sys, Gokongweis, Ayalas, Aboitizes, Zobels, Tys, and Manuel V. Pangilinan, are on Forbes‘ 2017 Global 2000 list of the world’s largest public companies.

Despite market volatility and unexpected political developments unfolding globally over the past year, Forbes reported that large listed companies remain giants – boosting their operations and profits to even higher levels amid uncertainty. 

The 8 Philippine-listed companies which made it to the Forbes list include:

• SM Investments Corporation
• BDO Unibank Incorporated
• JG Summit Holdings Incorporated
• Ayala Corporation
• Top Frontier Investment Holdings Incorporated
• Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank)
• Aboitiz Equity Ventures
• Manila Electric Company (Meralco)

Combined, these 8 listed companies accounted for $43.1 billion (P2.2 trillion) in sales, $3.6 billion (P180 billion) in profits, and $176.6 billion (P8.8 trillion) in assets. 

These companies also had a combined market value of $72.4 billion (P3.6 trillion). 

The two most valuable Philippine firms, according to the list, are Sy-led SM Investments Corporation (SMIC) and BDO Unibank Incorporated (BDO). Together, their sales and profits amounted to $9.9 billion and $1.2 billion respectively in 2016. The two companies also have combined assets worth $64.1 billion.

At the 823rd spot, SMIC was the only Philippine firm to make it to the top half of the list, with $7.3 billion in sales and $650 million in profits. The company also held assets worth $17.3 billion.

BDO followed at the 1,018th spot with $2.6 billion in sales, $549 million in profits, and assets of $46.8 billion. 

SMIC founder Henry Sy Sr was also part of Forbes’ 2017 list of richest people on the planet, with an individual net worth of $12.7 billion.

Meanwhile, Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings Incorporated, with sales and profits amounting to $4.9 billion and $634 million respectively, also made it to the list at the 1,151st spot. The holding company also cited assets worth $13.4 billion.

JG Summit has interests in food, air transportation, real estate, banking, and petrochemicals through its subsidiaries, which include Universal Robina Corporation, Cebu Pacific, Robinsons Land, Robinsons Bank, and JG Summit Petrochemicals.

John Gokongwei, whose individual net worth is $5.8 billion, was also among the 14 Filipinos included in Forbes’ 2017 list of billionaires.

At the 1,176th spot is Ayala Corporation, which raked in $4.2 billion in sales and $548 million in profits. The company has assets worth $18.4 billion.

One of the Philippines’ oldest and largest conglomerates, Ayala Corporation is engaged in real estate, telecommunications, financial services, electronics manufacturing, power, business process outsourcing, infrastructure, education, and automotive distribution and dealership.

Taking the 1,228th spot is Top Frontier Investment Holdings Incorporated (TFI), an investment company led by Iñigo Zobel as chairman and Ramon S. Ang as president.

With sales and profits worth $14.2 billion and $21 million respectively, the company is the largest stakeholder of San Miguel Corporation – owning 66.1% of the listed firm.

Besides food and beverage, TFI also has interests in mining exploration and development through Clariden Holdings Incorporated. In addition to this, TFI has assets worth $28.8 billion. 

At the 1,531st spot is Metrobank, with $2 billion in sales and $375 million in profits. The company, led by the Ty family, has assets worth $37.8 billion.

Aboitiz-led Aboitiz Equity Ventures, meanwhile, is the Philippines’ 7th largest listed firm on the Forbes list and holds the 1,793rd spot.

Through its subsidiaries Aboitiz Power, Pilmico, Union Bank, Aboitiz Infrastructure, and Aboitiz Land, the holding company has operations in power, food, banking, infrastructure, and real estate. It counted $2.5 billion in sales, $487 million in profits, and $8.1 billion in assets.

Power distributor Meralco, led by Manuel V. Pangilinan, is 1,947th on the list. It cited sales worth $5.4 billion and profits worth $404 million. Meralco also had assets worth $6.3 billion as of the release of the list.

Bigger and more valuable

According to Forbes, the 2017 list is bigger and more valuable than last year’s as market capitalization of the 2,000 companies grew by 10%.

The list was compiled by screening for the largest public companies in terms of sales, profits, assets, and market capitalization. Each category required that companies reach minimum cutoff values to qualify: sales of $3.95 billion, profits of $257 million, assets of $9.34 billion, and market value of $5.65 billion as of April 7, 2017. Companies then received a composite score based on their rank for each category, which determined the final rankings.

The United States counted the most number of companies on the list, with over 500 American companies considered among the world’s largest listed firms.

Warren Buffett’s US-based Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated is the 3rd largest public company in the world with sales of $222.9 billion, profits of $24.1 billion, and assets of $620.9 billion. The company has a market value of $409.9 billion.

Meanwhile, China, with over 200 companies on the list, was the 2nd country with the most entities making it to the Forbes list.

China also hosts the world’s largest public company, the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, which counted $151.4 billion in sales, $42 billion in profits, $3,473.2 billion in assets, and a market value of $229.8 billion, making it number one on the prestigious list. – Rappler.com