AIS, CP All make the cut in Forbes Asia Fab 50
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Chinese companies once again dominate the latest Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 list with 20 entries, down three from last year, while India produced 12 entries, up from 11 last year.
Two Thai companies in the list are Advanced Info Service (AIS) and CP All.
According to Forbes, the largest mobile operator in Thailand, AIS, returns to the list after a seven-year absence. AIS is riding the country’s rapid smart-phone adoption and aims to provide third-generation 2.1-gigahertz network coverage to 97 per cent of the population by 2015.
For CP All, the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Thailand, a 25-per-cent rise in sales last year, coupled with a 41-per-cent jump in net income, helps the retailer make its third straight Fab 50 appearance. It shocked the market this year with its US$6.6-billion (Bt212 billion) purchase of Siam Makro, a membership-based cash-and-carry chain.
The latest Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 list showcases the best big public companies in the Asia-Pacific region. Despite slowing growth, gyrating currencies and stagnation in export markets in the United States and Europe, this year’s winners not only survived but thrived amid testing times, Forbes said.
The Fab 50 companies are selected from a pool of 1,220 companies with at least $3 billion in annual revenue or market capitalisation. Companies are analysed in several areas, including revenue, profits, return on capital, share-price movements and outlook. The list excludes companies with too much debt or where the government owns at least half of the shares.
Chinese companies once again dominate the list with 20 entries, down three from last year, while India produced 12 entries, up from 11. The full Fab 50 list can be found at www.forbes.com/fab50 and in the September issue of Forbes Asia.
China’s real-estate sector may be sluggish but the three property developers from last year’s Fab 50 – China Vanke, Longfor Properties and Poly Real Estate Group – managed to find new markets and staged another winning year.
India’s pharmaceutical sector saw three drug companies gracing this year’s list.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories return to the list, while Lupin makes its debut.
Sun’s net profit had grown 50 per cent since 2008 to reach $553 million for the year ended March 31. Billionaire Dilip Shanghvi and his family own 64 per cent of the company.
Indian’s HDFC Bank also makes it to the list for the seventh time, more than any other Fab 50 company this year. The 19-year-old Mumbai bank has more than half of its branches in semi-urban and rural areas.
Eighteen companies debuted on the list. Four newcomers are from Hong Kong, including real-estate developer Wharf (Holdings) and three casino companies, SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment Group and Melco Crown Entertainment.
Every country is represented except Japan, which dropped off the list, as it also did in 2011.
