Jollibee, GT Capital in ‘Forbes Fab 50 Companies’ list

MANILA, Philippines – Two Philippine firms made it to the 10^th annual “Forbes Asia’s Fab 50 Companies” list, the magazine reported Wednesday, July 22.

For the second time, Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) was in the lineup of “high-performing entrepreneurial blue chips, the region’s best of the best,” the business magazine said.

The fast food behemoth started as an ice cream shop in 1975. To date, it has more than 2,000 domestic locations and easily outnumbers US giants McDonald’s and KFC. JFC counts 2,933 eateries worldwide, with plans to open 330 this year. Forbes lists JFC with a market capitalization of $4.5 billion as of this month.

JFC is also eyeing to become one of the top 5 quick service restaurants in the world in terms of market capitalization in the next 7 years. It is accelerating its store openings in the Philippines, China, and US and through acquisitions. (READ: Jollibee plans to buy US brand)

GT Capital of billionaire George Ty debuts in the list, with a market capitalization of $5.1 billion as of July. The family holding company boasts power, auto, and real estate operations.

GT Capital’s shares also rose by nearly 45% over the past year while its revenue was up by more than a third in 2014. Strong auto sales of its subsidiary, Toyota Motor Philippines, was the main reason for the growth, Forbes noted.

The “Fab 50 Companies” were chosen from a pool of 1,116 companies that have at least $3 billion in annual revenue or market capitalization.

“Companies must be publicly traded for at least a year, so Alibaba, which listed last September, will get its first chance next year,” Forbes said.

China has 25 companied on the Forbes annual honor roll of Asia-Pacific’s 50 best big companies that are exchange-listed.

“That’s more than ever (it had 16 last year) and more than any other country for the fifth year in a row,” Forbes said.

China again brags the list’s most valuable company, Tencent, now worth $176.5 billion – and its biggest, Lenovo, which hit $46.3 billion in revenue in 2014. Lenovo was also in the first edition of the list in 2005.

In the first edition of the list, Japan produced the most companies, 12; Australia was second, with 10.

“This year Japan has just one and Australia none,” Forbes said.

 Hong Kong had 5 in the first list but had none in 2015.

“The industries represented then were tilted toward heavy industry. There was one pharmaceutical or health care company; this year there are 9,” Forbes added.

Forbes also used more than a dozen financial measures to size up the contenders. It removed companies “that carry a lot of debt or are more than 50% state-owned.”

“Companies that are more than 50% owned by listed parents are also culled. The goal is a lineup of high-performing entrepreneurial blue chips, the region’s best of the best,” Forbes said. – Rappler.com