Philippines Top 10 Largest Companies

Below are Philippines biggest companies organized by asset value. Shown within parentheses is the primary industry in which each company operates. Also shown is the change in asset value in 2020 compared to one year earlier.

1. BDO Unibank (regional bank): US$64.6 billion in 2020 (up 12.35% from 2019)
2. Metropolitan Bank & Trust (regional bank): $46.7 billion (up 9.4%)
3. Top Frontier Investment Holdings (oil & gas operations): $36.2 billion (up 11.7%)
4. SM Investments (department stores): $28.4 billion (up 18.3%)
5. Ayala (conglomerate): $26.6 billion (up 26.7%)
6. LT Group (conglomerate): $25 billion (down -6%)
7. JG Summit Holdings (conglomerate): $18.4 billion (up 25.2%)
8. San Miguel (conglomerate): $13.7 billion (up 1.8%)
9. PLDT (telecommunications services): $12.1 billion (up 9.7%)
10. Alliance Global Group (conglomerate): $6.3 billion (down -0.05%)

Eight of these world-class firms grew their asset values from 2019 to 2020, led by conglomerate Ayala’s 26.7% gain. JG Summit Holdings expanded its total assets by 25.2%, ahead of department store kingpin SM Investments (up 18.3%), regional financial institution BDO Unibank (up 12.3%) and oil and gas operator Top Frontier Investment Holdings (up 11.7%).

The two major Filipino conglomerates endured year-over-year declines namely LT Group (down -6%) and Alliance Global Group (down -0.05%). The latter is an investment holding company noted for its food and beverage assets, real estate and fast-food establishments.

Note that PLDT means Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.

Sales is the life blood for most businesses that depend on servicing customers. This rings particularly true for firms that compete not only for domestic revenues but also as a measure of financial strength in international markets. Nine of Philippines largest companies increased their year-over-year total revenues.

1. Top Frontier Investment Holdings (oil & gas operations): US$19.5 billion in 2020 (up 2.6% from 2019)
2. San Miguel (conglomerate): $14.9 billion (up 33.3%)
3. SM Investments (department stores): $8.3 billion (down -21.4%)
4. JG Summit Holdings (conglomerate): $5.6 billion (up 5.7%)
5. Ayala (conglomerate): $5.1 billion (down -1.9%)
6. BDO Unibank (regional bank): $4.3 billion (up 26.5%)
7. PLDT (telecommunications services): $3.8 billion (up 7%)
8. Metropolitan Bank & Trust (regional bank): $2.8 billion (up 21.7%)
9. Alliance Global Group (conglomerate): $2.5 billion (down -49.5%)
10. LT Group (conglomerate): $2 billion (up 0.3%)

Three among the largest Filipino businesses generated double-digit increases from 2019 to 2020. There were San Miguel (up 33.3%), BDO Unibank (up 26.5%) and the regional financial institution Metropolitan Bank & Trust (up 21.7%).

There were sales decliners year over year. Annual revenues dived -49.5% for the Alliance Global Group compared to a -21.4% drop for SM Investments and a -1.9% setback for conglomerate Ayala.

Despite the slowing global economy, six of the top 10 Filipino companies grew their profits from 2019 to 2020.

1. BDO Unibank (regional bank): US$840 million in 2020 (up 35.3% from 2019)
2. Ayala (conglomerate): $681 million (up 14.8%)
3. JG Summit Holdings (conglomerate): $604 million (up 37.3%)
4. Metropolitan Bank & Trust (regional bank): $534 million (up 27.8%)
5. PLDT (telecommunications services): $510 million (up 7.8%)
6. SM Investments (department stores): $491 million (down -47.5%)
7. LT Group (conglomerate): $469 million (down -19%)
8. Top Frontier Investment Holdings (oil & gas operations): $207 million (up 14.4%)
9. Alliance Global Group (conglomerate): $163 million (down -67.1%)
10. San Miguel (conglomerate): -$12 million (down -102%)

The strongest annual profit improvement goes to conglomerate JG Summit Holdings, thanks to its 37.3% increase. In second place was BDO Unibank (up 35.3%) trailed by Metropolitan Bank & Trust (up 27.8%).

Conglomerate San Miguel reversed a $597 million surplus in 2019 to incur a -$12 loss for 2020.

Suffering percentage declines in their profits year over year were Alliance Global Group (down -67.1%), SM Investments (down -47.5%) and LT Group (down -19%).

As the following list shows, the largest Filipino companies by asset value does not precisely match with the biggest number of employees working for each corporation.

1. Alliance Global Group: 38,186
2. Ayala: 17,215
3. BDO Unibank: 38,510
4. JG Summit Holdings: 21,477
5. LT Group: 6,630
6. Metropolitan Bank & Trust: 13,150
7. PLDT: 18,784
8. San Miguel: 17,151
9. SM Investments: 89,746 employees
10. Top Frontier Investment Holdings: 18,646

For example, SM Investments places fourth in terms of asset size yet the department stores conglomerate provides the most jobs compared to the other major companies in the Philippines.

Five of the Philippines top 10 largest companies have their headquarters located in Makati City, nicknamed the “Financial Capital of the Philippines” or the “Wall Street of the Philippines”.

1. Alliance Global Group: Quezon City
2. Ayala: Makati City
3. BDO Unibank: Makati City
4. JG Summit Holdings: Pasig City
5. LT Group: Taguig City
6. Metropolitan Bank & Trust: Makati City
7. PLDT: Makati City
8. San Miguel: Mandaluyong
9. SM Investments: Pasay
10. Top Frontier Investment Holdings: Makati City

Makati is the financial center of the Philippines, boasting the nation’s highest concentration of multinational and local corporations. Major banks, corporations, department stores as well as foreign embassies are based in Makati.