Pinoy firms, execs among Asia’s best

The Philippine Stock Excvhange (PSE) lauded the results of an annual poll conducted by Hong Kong-based financial publishing giant FinanceAsia which cited a number of publicly-listed firms that are the best managed in the Philippines.

FinanceAsia collected votes from 238 investors and analysts across Asia for its ninth annual poll of top companies in the region. The poll results were released early this month.

“This acclaim for our listed firms is a testament to their respective best business practices. We believe this would redound to benefits for their shareholders. The results of the poll are strong indications that despite the raging financial crisis, many Philippine companies continue to outperform and endeavor to uplift shareholder value,” PSE president and chief executive officer Francis Lim said.

Based on FinanceAsia’s poll results, Ayala Corp. dominated three categories: “best managed company,” “best corporate governance,” and “best corporate social responsibility.” It also placed highly in the “best investor relations” category.

Ayala Corp. units Globe Telecom Inc., Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Manila Water Co. and Ayala Land Inc. also bagged honors in the said categories as well as in the “most committed to a strong dividend policy” and “best mid-capitalization” categories.

Sweeping “best CEO” was Ayala chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, while awarded as the country’s “best CFOs” were Globe Telecom CFO Delfin Gonzalez and Ayala Corp. Treasurer Ramon Opulencia.

On the other hand, telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) won top ranks in two categories: “best investor relations” and “most committed to a strong dividend policy.” It also figured prominently in the “best managed company,” “best corporate governance,” and “best corporate social responsibility” categories.

PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan was a close second in the “best CEO” category.

Manila Water and Security Bank Corp. were voted “best mid-cap” companies, while Alaska Milk Corp. and Splash Corp. were the “best small-cap” firms.

Aside from Ayala Corp. and PLDT, eight more companies were cited in the “best managed company” category, namely, Globe Telecom, Manila Water, Banco de Oro, Security Bank, BPI, Ayala Land, Megaworld Corp. and International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI).

Security Bank also ranked highly in “best corporate governance,” “best investor relations,” and “most committed to a strong dividend policy” categories.

Megaworld also placed highly in the “best investor relations” category, while ICTSI earned high marks in the “best investor relations” and “most committed to a strong dividend policy” categories.

San Miguel Corp. earned a citation for “best governance,” while SM Investments Corp. placed prominently in three categories: “best investor relations,” “best corporate social responsibility,” and “most committed to a strong dividend policy.”

Petron Corp. and Manila Electric Co. were also cited in the “best corporate social responsibility” category.

“From us here at the PSE, we commend all the awardees for their performances and may they continue to be paragons in our market in these challenging times. More importantly, may our other listed companies emulate their example as elevating their standards to international best practices is essential to making our stock market competitive in the global markets,” Mr. Lim said.–Daily Tribune