ONLY three Filipino companies made it to Forbes Asia announced its 2024 Best Under A Billion list, which recognizes 200 top-performing small and mid-sized listed companies in the Asia-Pacific region. Topping the list were Far Eastern University Inc., which had sales of $88 million and market value of $287 million.
Lucio Co’s Philippine Bank of Communications was also on the list with market value of $118 million. Meanwhile, luxury products retailer SSI Group Inc. also made it to the list, which had sales of $489 million and market value of $192 million.
The Forbes list spotlights 200 leading public-listed companies in the Asia-Pacific region with annual sales above $10 million and below $1 billion. From a universe of over 20,000 listed companies, candidates were selected, not ranked, based on a composite score that incorporated their overall track record in measures such as debt, sales and earnings-per-share growth over both the most recent fiscal one- and three-year periods, and the strongest one- and five-year average returns on equity. The list, which started in 2002, featured some of Asia’s biggest success stories.
Notable alumni include tech companies Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent from China; India’s digital services and consulting company Infosys and biopharmaceutical firm Biocon; popular fast-food chain Jollibee Foods Corp. from the Philippines and Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia. “While geopolitical and inflationary headwinds sapped momentum from some Asia-Pacif.