Ayala Corp. among Asia’s best firms

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Corp., the country’s oldest conglomerate, again made it to the roster of the best companies in the region as compiled by FinanceAsia.

This year, Ayala Corp. received a gold for Best Corporate ESG Strategy (Philippines) and a bronze for Best Managed Company (Philippines).

“Ayala has been around for almost 190 years. One of the reasons why we have been around for so long is that we’ve always aligned ourselves to national interests. We have very high standards on governance and stewardship,” said Ayala Corp. CFO Albert de Larrazabal who attended the awarding ceremony held in Hong Kong last week.

Ayala received the award for being one of the first Philippine companies that incorporated sustainability into its corporate strategy via ESG impact management and shared value creation.

ESG impact management involves mitigating environmental and social issues and being more transparent, while creating shared value.

In 2021, Ayala became the first Philippine-based company to commit to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

This year, the company aims to complete the net zero roadmaps of its various business units.

The FinanceAsia poll, based on nomination by Asia’s active community of influential investors and financial analysts, evaluates the corporate behavior and performance of Asian peers over the past 12 months.

Other Ayala Group companies were also recognized this year. BPI received silver for Best Overall Company, while the bank’s CEO TG Limcaoco was awarded Best CEO (gold). Globe Group’s Rizza Maniego-Eala also received a bronze as Best CFO.

Ayala Corp. is the holding company of the Ayala Group of Companies, with principal business interests in real estate and hotels; financial services and insurance; telecommunications; water; industrial technologies; power; and automotive, outsourcing and others.