Ayala, AGI, Jollibee in Forbes’ Fab 50

MANILA, Philippines - Three of the Philippines’ biggest companies are in Forbes Asia’s list of the best 50 big listed companies in the region.

The 2013 Asia’s Fab 50 list includes fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. and leading conglomerates Ayala Corp. and Alliance Global Inc. (AGI), an abs-cbnnews.com report said.

Forbes Asia said it chose the 50 out of 1,220 companies which had at least $3 billion in annual revenue or market capitalization.

“We looked at each company’s track record for revenue, profits, return on capital and share-price movements, and then we sized up the outlook. If it had too much debt or the government owned at least half the shares, it was out,” Forbes Asia said.

Ayala Corp. is the country’s oldest conglomerate with businesses in real estate (Ayala Land), banking (BPI), telecommunications (Globe Telecom) and water (Manila Water), among others. It has an estimated market capitalization of $8.2 billion. Jaime Zobel de Ayala, chairman emeritus of Ayala Corp., is the sixth richest on Forbes’ 2013 Philippines Rich List with $3.1 billion.

Jollibee Foods is the country’s top fast food chain, with a market capitalization of $4.2 billion as of August 2013. Founded by Tony Tan Caktiong, the company has several restaurant chains such as Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon and Mang Inasal.

Alliance Global Inc., led by Andrew Tan, has a market capitalization of $6.5 billion, the abs-cbnnews.com report said. Its businesses include real estate (Megaworld), food and beverage (Emperador) and quick service restaurants (McDonalds Philippines franchise). Tan is the third richest person on Forbes’ list of billionaires in the Philippines, with wealth of $4.6 billion.

The Fab 50 list also includes Chinese companies such as Tencent Holdings and Baidu; India’s Tata Consultancy Services and ITC; Hong Kong’s Wharf (Holdings) and Melco Crown; and Thailand’s Advanced Info Service.