February 14, 2025
MANILA – Some of the country’s largest conglomerates, banks, and other institutions made it to Time Magazine’s list of the 500 Best Companies in the Asia-Pacific region for showing strong growth last year despite threats posed by geopolitical uncertainties.
Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, topped the 29 Philippine companies included in the list at No. 46, 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).
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 (320th), Universal Robina Corp. (329th), and Ginebra San Miguel (345th) were among the five food and beverage companies.
These local 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.
Other local firms that made it to Time’s list are 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).