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| By Max V. de Leon |
| Reporter |
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| THE Philippines ranked eighth among 32 countries with the most number of “super-growth companies” in a survey conducted by accounting and consultancy firm Grant Thornton International.
The survey defines a super-growth company as one that has grown considerably more than the average growth, measured against key indicators including turnover and employment. The Philippines moved up 15 spots from its standings the previous year when only 7 percent of the firms surveyed qualified as super- growth companies. The current survey covered 32 countries representing 81 percent of the global gross domestic product and included 7,200 firms. The US emerged at the top of the survey with 44 percent of its firms qualifying as super-growth companies. The other countries making it to the Top 10 are Armenia, 38 percent; Ireland, 29 percent; UK, 26 percent; South Africa, 25 percent; Sweden, 23 percent; Canada, 22 percent; Singapore, 21 percent, and Germany, 20 percent. To identify “super-growth” companies, Experian Business Strategies, the survey’s economics consultancy, took four key indicators to create a weighted index. These indicators were: absolute growth in turnover (adjusted for inflation); the percentage growth in turnover (adjusted for inflation); absolute growth in employee numbers; the percentage growth in employee numbers. By this measure, 23 percent of all privately held businesses surveyed worldwide are classified as super growth, Grant Thornton said. Significant climbers in the Super Growth Index include Russia, which has moved from 29th to 18th in the rankings; Argentina, from 27th to 15th; and Italy, from 30th to 21st. India, which last year occupied the top two positions, suffered a dramatic drop to the 14th spot, as the country’s proportion of super-growth companies was halved from 34 percent to 15 percent. Hong Kong, another strong performer in 2006, has fallen from its top three spot to land at No. 11. “What we might be seeing now is a consolidation in Hong Kong and India, with those super-growth businesses of the last few years perhaps concentrating on profitability rather than simply on high levels of growth. Conversely, businesses in the Philippines and Russia could be considered as being in a different stage of their economic expansion, with growth in employee numbers and turnover a component element of their emergence as global economies,” Alex MacBeath, Grant Thornton official, said. The survey also showed that 63 percent of super-growth companies believe globalization presents more of an opportunity for their company; super-growth companies say the availability of a skilled workforce is considered to be a greater constraint; red tape and regulation is another major concern for one in three (32 percent) super growth companies; and, super-growth companies are considerably less constrained in their ability to raise long-term finance with just 13 percent. “This is a very relevant survey and one which truly captures the Philippine story,” Antonio Herbosa, head for Corporate Finance at P&A, said. “We’ve been saying all the while, as the Philippines transitioned away from manufacturing to a more service-based economy, it was initially painful, but in the end, we actually found our global niche. And it is perhaps a niche that is not just measured in terms of foreign direct investments—which is more appropriate for manufacturing powerhouses like China and Vietnam—but more in terms of employee and revenue growth,” added Herbosa. He believes the Philippine growth story will continue to be anchored on OFW remittances and the corresponding consumption-driven business models that best capture these inflows: BPOs, call centers and other IT-based industries, medical tourism, leisure and affordable housing. Except in mining and power generation, there is tremendous potential within the SME sector, too, particularly in consumer and service type businesses. |
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/0330&312007/headlines02.html
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