6 Philippines firms make Forbes 2000 list

MANILA, Philippines — Six Philippine companies made it to the Forbes Global 2000 list of the biggest, most powerful and most valuable companies in the world.

These are SM Investments Corp., the  Sy-owned conglomerate which is number 883 on the list; BDO Unibank Inc., number 1,072, also owned by the Sy Group; Top Frontier Investment Holdings Inc., the largest shareholder in San Miguel Corp., is number 1,210 while Ayala Corporation, the oldest conglomerate, is number 1,216 on the list.

Completing the list are Gokongwei-owned JG Summit Holdings Inc., which is at number 1,506 and Metrobank at 1,750.

The Forbes Global 2000 list is a ranking of the biggest, most powerful and most valuable companies in the world. Criteria for the ranking include its sales, profits, assets and market value.

The latest list showed Chinese companies extended their streak at the top of the Global 2000 list.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China is in top spot for the sixth consecutive year, while China Construction Bank remains in the second spot.

The top ten companies on Forbes’ 2018 Global 2000 list are: Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Berkshire Hathaway, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Apple, Bank of China and another Chinese company, Ping An Insurance.

“As a group, the Global 2000 accounts for $39.1 trillion in sales, $3.2 trillion in profit, $189 trillion in assets and $56.8 trillion in market value. All metrics are up double digits year-over-year, with profits up an impressive 28 percent.

“It’s been a strong year for businesses worldwide, and companies on the Forbes 2018 Global 2000 saw their market value, assets, sales and profits jump,” said Halah Touryalai, deputy editor, Money & Markets, Forbes Media.

“But while this year’s market correction may not hurt the world’s largest public companies, looming geopolitical challenges, like a trade war, are a different story.”

With China and the United States making up more than 40 percent of the Global 2000, the possibility of a trade war between the two nations is a major risk for global companies.

”This year, there are 131 newcomers to the list. The global IPO market has started to pick up and helped to secure 14 companies on the 2018 list.

Essity, a Swedish personal care company, was the highest debut in 2018, at No. 722. Spotify was the most high-profile IPO. The music-streaming company debuted at No. 1644 in large part because of its $27 billion market cap,” Forbes said.