Published September 19, 2008

14 S'pore firms in Forbes 'Best under US$1b' list

Companies include Ezra, Swiber, Straits Trading and Food Empire

By CHOW PENN NEE
Email this article
Print article
Feedback

SINGAPORE saw 14 companies on the Forbes Asia's 'Best Under a Billion' list.

The China connection proved to be a common thread among some of the companies.

Into its fourth year, the annual list features the best 200 Asia-Pacific companies with less than US$1 billion in sales.

Companies which made the cut were sifted out of a possible 24,155 publicly- listed companies. Consistent growth in both sales and profits over three years were the key criteria.

According to Forbes, all the companies on the 2008 list increased sales and profits despite major indices in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Australia each falling by more than 20 per cent in the past year.

The 14 Singapore-listed companies on the list belong to various sectors including shipbuilding, water treatment, education, tin mining, property investment and manufacturing.

They include Ezra, a one-time stockmarket darling which provides ship chartering services for the offshore oil-and-gas industry; Swiber, also in shipbuilding and offshore engineering; and Straits Trading, subject of a takeover battle earlier this year.

The China connection proved to be a common thread among some of the companies. Midas - which produces aluminium alloy products used in high-speed trains and does business in China - also made the cut as did private education provider Raffles Education, which is expanding rapidly in China and building a university campus there.

Making its second appearance on the list was Food Empire, a manufacturer of instant beverages and frozen food.

Emerging markets such as Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are where Food Empire - which has 1,200 employees in 18 offices and factories around Eurasia - has made its mark. Group revenue has more than doubled and net profit almost tripled to S$22 million over the last five years.

The Greater China region dominated the list with 88 companies. Forbes said some of the companies on the list were beneficiaries of the Beijing Olympics, such as Hong Kong's Focus Media, and sports companies such as mainland China's Li Ning and China Hongxing Sports.

Companies which provide food and transport for tourists to China and South-east Asia also benefited. Alibaba.com, a popular e-commerce venture in China, was also on the list.

The list also included 22 companies from India, 23 companies from Japan, 10 from Australia, 13 from South Korea, and 13 from Malaysia.

Taiwan had 25 companies, Thailand had seven and there were two each from New Zealand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.