RP improves to 22nd place in list of world’s ‘super growth companies’

The Philippines improved to 22nd place in the worldwide list of countries with the highest proportion of "super growth" companies, a survey by Grant Thornton International showed.

Based on the Super Growth Index 2005, the Philippines tied with France with six percent of companies considered super growth, an improvement from the previous survey’s three percent.

The United States topped the list , overtaking the previous year’s leader Sweden.

"Super growth" companies are defined as those which have grown considerably more than the average. To identify "super growth" companies, four key indicators were considered to create a weighted index. These are: absolute growth in turnover (adjusted for inflation); the percentage growth in turnover (adjusted for inflation); absolute growth in employee numbers; and the percentage growth in employee numbers.

In the US, 48 percent of companies are in the super growth category, up significantly on a second place ranking of 22 percent in the 2004 survey.

Hong Kong also has moved up the list to second place, leaping from eighth place with 28 percent of companies as super growth. Hong Kong is closely followed by Australia (27 percent), the United Kingdom (25 percent), and Canada (23 percent).

The Super Growth Index 2005, now on its second year, is a research project which forms part of Grant Thornton’s International Business Owners Survey (IBOS) covering over 6,000 business owners worldwide. IBOS is commissioned by Grant Thornton International, the network of leading advisers to medium-sized businesses.

Last year’s leader Sweden moved down to joint 10th position with 13 percent of companies classified as super growth. At the bottom of the Super Growth Index are Russia (two percent) and Turkey (one percent).

Benjamin Punongbayan, chairman and CEO of Punongbayan & Araullo, a member firm of Grant Thornton International in the Philippines, said the Super Growth Index shows an exceptional performance by US companies reflecting the vigorous growth in the economy in the US last year and the business opportunities presented by healthy consumer demand and an upturn in employment.

"Super growth companies are optimistic about expectations for turnover, profitability and employment. A staggering 73 percent of super growth companies are optimistic about employment compared with of 34 percent of companies in general. They are also more focused on attracting, developing and retaining staff and this is creating a virtuous circle of growth," Punongbayan added.

"There are clear lessons here. Be positive, look after your people and get the business appropriately funded – then you have a great platform to build and deliver your strategy," he added.