DESPITE of what we normally see or hear in the news about other countries’ economic woes, the Asia-Pacific region continues to stand out in the global landscape.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that not only has the region’s output returned to pre-crisis levels, but its contribution to a global recovery has outstripped that of other regions.
This is the reason why Forbes Asia has made the “Best Under A Billion” list for 2010 in its September issue.
The list highlights the 200 top-performing small and midsize enterprises (with revenues under $1 billion) that have been at the forefront. A total of 151 firms are new on the list, and among those are three Philippine companies — Lopez Holdings, Pacific Online Systems and Philweb.
A broadcasting, cable and satellite and entertainment programming company, Lopez Holdings registered 538 million in sales with a $257 million net income. Its market value stands at $529 million.
Pacific Online Systems, which develops and manages computer systems for the gaming industry, has $21 million in sales, $6 million net income, and $432 million market value.
Philweb, an online gambling service, has $18 million in sales, $12 million net income and $432 million market value.
In 2009 the IMF said that the economy of the Philippines is the 4th largest in South East Asia and the 36th largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity. In 2009, the real growth rate was 1.1 percent. In the first quarter of this year, analysts were stunned by a surprise boom of the economy to 7.3 percent from an expected 3.6 percent.
A lot of people see the Philippines as a struggling country, just because of the negative (but remote and few) incidents that have happened. However, we believe that the Philippines is a developing nation. It is resilient and has survived crisis after crisis.
There may be only three Philippine companies that made it to Forbes Asia’s list, but who knows, next year there could be more. (AJPress)
( www.asianjournal.com )
( Published September 4, 2010 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A12 )
