UK bourse stamps SMIC with good housekeeping seal

MANILA, Philippines — SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the listed conglomerate of the Sy Group, has received a seal of good housekeeping from the London Stock Exchange for its efforts on sustainability and good governance.

SMIC was confirmed as part of the FTSE4Good Index Series (FTSE4Good) for its strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices, the company said in a statement yesterday.

Company president and chief executive officer Frederic DyBuncio welcomed the recognition and noted that the group would continue to adhere to ESG practices.

“We are honored to be included in FTSE4Good.  This affirms our commitment to sustainable operations and strong adherence to good corporate governance.  We remain focused on our key strategies to create shared value for all our stakeholders which includes the communities we serve,” he said.

The Sy-owned conglomerate has been among the first companies in the country to embrace ESG practices, also including these initiatives in all its reportorial. It has recognized that incorporating ESG into the company’s DNA is already necessary given the increasingly discerning investors worldwide.

Officials have noted that many global investors and fund managers look into a company’s ESG practices.

SM is also included in the FTSE4Good Emerging Index ranked among constituents in over 20 countries worldwide.

FTSE4Good is managed by FTSE Russell of the London Stock Exchange Group and is designed to identify companies that demonstrate strong ESG practices against globally recognized standards. 

According to the index’s manager FTSE Russel, investors use these indices when creating or assessing responsible investment funds and other products for its transparent management and clearly defined ESG criteria. 

FTSE Russell is a global index leader that provides innovative benchmarking analytics and data solutions for investors worldwide. It created the index in 2001. 

In particular, the FTSE4Good Emerging Indexes measure the performance of companies in emerging markets that meet the recognized ESG inclusion standards used by the FTSE4Good Index Series.

Every year, SM measures its ESG performance and discloses its sustainability report based on the widely used reporting framework, Global Reporting Initiative.

SMIC’s businesses are retail, banking and property. It also invests in ventures that capture high growth opportunities in the emerging Philippine economy.

SM’s retail operations are the country’s largest and most diversified with its food, non-food and specialty retail stores.

Property arm SM Prime Holdings Inc. is the largest integrated property developer in the Philippines with interests in malls, residences, offices, hotels and convention centers as well as tourism-related property developments.

SM’s interests in banking are in BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest bank and China Banking Corp., the 6th largest bank.