MANILA, Philippines - After being dislodged by the holding firm of the country's richest man as the most valuable firm in the Philippines, the country's biggest telephone company has been regaining its long-held top rank.

Over the past trading days, the market value -- the price of its stock multiplied by the number of outstanding shares -- of Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has surpassed that of Henry Sy-led SM Investments Corp. (SMIC).

SMIC made history when its shares breached the P900 benchmark in the last trading days of 2012 and eventually eclipsed the market capitalization of PLDT, which has long stayed on top of the Philippine Stock Exchange's (PSE) list of most valuable listed firms.

Since the start of the year, the two have been exchanging places at the top as the Philippines Stock Exchange main index soared to record highs almost every trading day.

PLDT shares have also been on the steady uptrend since January 11, when its shares hit P2,688 a piece, translating to a market value of P580.76 billion, overtaking SMIC's P573.14 billion.

Until Monday, January 21, PLDT remained on top.

- Rappler.com