Six Phl firms vie for most admired plum in Asean Business Awards

MANILA, Philippines - Six Filipino firms will represent the country in this year’s regional ASEAN Business Awards to compete for the honor of being named as the most admired enterprises in the region.

Leading this year’s cast is port giant International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), a developer and operator of container terminals in gateway ports in over 20 countries across Asia-Pacific, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East.

ICTSI won this year’s corporate excellence award during the maiden Asean Business Awards Philippines. ICTSI was cited not only for its outstanding growth performance, but also for its commitment to the welfare of its employees, as well as its impactful corporate social responsibility programs.

Joining the port operator in the large enterprises category are Pointwest Technologies and Golden ABC which won the innovation award and Asean centricity category, respectively.

Pointwest Technologies, which won for its consistent and fearless setting of new benchmarks for its industry and peers, is one of the top IT-BPM companies in the country.

Golden ABC, the company behind clothing and accessory lines such as Penshoppe and Oxygen, was recognized as a perfect model for many Filipino companies aiming to enter into the integrated Asean market in a position of strength.

Fountainhead Technologies Inc. was declared as this year’s Best Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) while the ASEAN Business Awards also named VCargo Worldwide president Paolo Tibig as the best young entrepreneur, while Community Health Education Emergency Rescue Services Corp. vice president Sandra Sanchez-Montano received the woman leader award.

The six homegrown companies will represent the Philippines in the regional Asean Business Awards in November during the Asean Business and Investment Summit in Myanmar.

The Philippine winners will compete with the national winners of the nine other Asean member countries.

The Asean BAC Philippines is the country’s representative to the Asean Business Advisory Council, the regional platform created by Asean leaders to provide private business sector feedback and guidance to boost the region’s efforts towards economic integration and identify priority areas for considerations by the Asean leaders.

The Asean BAC Philippines is headed by three prominent Filipino business leaders: Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, SM Investments Corp. vice chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson and Interior Basics Export Corp. president Jay Y. Yuvallos.