Seven Malaysian firms on Forbes Asia's Best Under A Billion list

PUTRAJAYA: Seven Malaysian firms have been recognised under Forbes Asia’s 2022 Best Under A Billion list, which highlights 200 Asia-Pacific public companies with sales under US$1bil (RM4.46bil).

Last year, 11 Malaysian companies made it to the list.

Two companies have made the list two years in a row, namely D&O Green Technologies Berhad and ViTrox Corporation Berhad.

The other five this year are CE Technology Berhad, Greatech Technology Berhad, Kim Loong Resources Berhad, Tashin Holdings Berhad and UG Healthcare Corporation Limited.

According to Forbes Asia, the top three Malaysian firms in terms of total sales were Kim Loong Resources (US$410mil or RM1.82bil), UG Healthcare (US$251mil or RM1.18bil) and D&O Green Technologies (US$204mil or RM909mil).

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In terms of total net income, the top three performers were UG Healthcare (US$88mil or RM392.22mil), ViTrox (US$41mil or RM183.7mil) and Greatech Technology (US$34mil or RM151.5mil).

Forbes Asia said as Covid-19 restrictions ease across the Asia-Pacific and people adapt to the new normal, this year’s Best Under A Billion list highlights the shift in discretionary spending.

“While healthcare and pharmaceutical-related companies were standouts last year, the post-pandemic return to daily life has benefitted apparel makers, mall operators, restaurants, consumer electronics and entertainment companies, among others,” it said.

This year’s list included 75 returnees from the previous year, reflecting their resiliency in a fast-changing environment, it added.

Taiwan’s Aspeed Technology Inc, a fabless integrated-circuit design company, was cited for making it to the Best Under A Billion list for a notable nine consecutive years.

Forbes Asia also highlighted eight companies, including Thailand beverage company Sappe and Indonesia’s herbal medicines and supplements manufacturer Sido Muncul, that captured the momentum of economic reopenings following the pandemic.

The list includes Bafang Electric (China), Dollar Industries (India), Gift Holdings (Japan), Globe International (Australia), JYP Entertainment (South Korea), and The Hour Glass (Singapore).

Forbes Asia said the list was meant to identify companies with long-term sustainable performance across a variety of metrics.

“From a universe of 20,000 publicly traded companies in the Asia-Pacific region with annual sales of above US$10mil and below US$1bil, these 200 companies were selected.

“The companies on this list, which are unranked, were selected based on a composite score that incorporated their overall track record in measures,” it said.

These include debt, sales and earnings-per-share growth over both the most recent fiscal one- and three-year periods, and the strongest one- and five-year average returns on equity.

Aside from the quantitative criteria, qualitative screens were also used such as accounting, environmental concerns, management issues or legal troubles.