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The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) announces eight Thai listed companies are among "Asia's 200 Best Under a Billion" this year, as ranked by Forbes Asia magazine, underlining the robust growth of Thai small- and medium-sized businesses.
SET Executive Vice President Chanitr Charnchainarong said that seven of the eight companies are on the main board, consisting of Aikchol Hospital pcl (AHC), BEC World pcl (BEC), Malee Sampran pcl (MALEE), Premier Marketing pcl (PM), Robinson Department Store pcl (ROBINS), Sahamit Machinery pcl (SMIT), Workpoint Entertainment pcl (WORK), while the other is mail-listed Master Ad pcl (MACO). The eight firms, which are two more than last year, have a combined market capitalization of THB 208 billion (approx. USD 6.7 billion),
This was the first time for AHC, MALEE, and SMIT to be in the Forbes ranking, and the second year for MACO and WORK, Chanitr added.
"The eight Thai firms chosen as part of Asia’s 200 Best Under a Billion have been screened from 15,000 companies across the Asia-Pacific region. Their selections reflect that small- and medium-sized listings based on domestic consumption and investment showed promising sales growth, effective cost management and strong financial structures, resulting in upbeat performances and high returns on equity. In addition, sales and services of these companies have risen continuously over the last three years, with an annual average sales growth of 21 percent and return on equity of 36 percent in 2012,” Chanitr said.
"Asia's 200 Best Under a Billion" selects from among companies with annual revenues between USD 5 million- USD 1 billion that have been publicly traded for at least a year, earned five-year average returns on equity and pretax margins greater than 10 percent, with positive sales and earnings per share growth for both the most recent fiscal one and three-year periods, and debt of less than 75 percent of shareholders’ equity.
