8 Philippine companies named Top firm in ASEAN

AN investment publications has named SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), Ayala Corp., Megaworld, Banco de Oro Unibank (BDO), Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI), Globe Telecom, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and San Miguel Corp. (SMC) as the top companies in the country.

Hong Kong-based Alpha Southeast Asia made the announcement after it revealed the results of its second annual poll to find Southeast Asia's top companies. The magazine said the awards are based on tallied votes among 460 investors, pension funds, hedge funds, equity and fixed income brokers and analysts with investment interests in the region. Companies in each country were ranked on their financial management, adherence to corporate governance, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and investor relations' strategy, transparency and disclosure.

Jose Sio, chief financial officer (CFO at SM Investments, was named as the best CFO in the Philippines.

Across the region, the award for Best CFO in Southeast Asia went to Jeann Low, CFO at SingTel. The award for the Best Annual Report in Southeast Asia went to Keppel Corp. while the award for the Strongest Commitment to Sustainable Energy in Southeast Asia went to Thai Oil.

In its statement, Alpha Southeast Asia also said a distinguishing feature of its poll is that it not only names investor favorites, but also names the companies perceived to have "poor management access and investor relations (IR)" by the same group of investors. In the Philippines, Lepanto Consolidated Mining, Metropoitan Bank & Trust Co. and Security Bank Corp. were noted for their "poor and unpredictable investor relations' strategy."

Most organized investor relations went to BDO, Megaworld and SMIC while companies with the best senior management IR support are BPI, Globe Telecom and PLDT.

Firms cited for having the strongest adherence to corporate governance are Ayala Corp., Megaworld and  SMIC while those with the most consistent dividend policy are Globe Telecom, PLDT and SMC.

Companies with the best strategic CSR are Ayala Corp, San Miguel Corp. and SMIC; the most improved IR citation went to SMC. The best annual report in the Philippines award was bagged by Ayala Corp.

Now in its sixth year of publication, Alpha Southeast Asia is an institutional investment magazine focused on Southeast Asia's banking and capital markets.