Five Pakistani companies make it to 2017 Forbes 'Best Under a Billion' list

Five Pakistani companies have featured in the Forbes magazine's latest annual ranking of best companies with under $1 billion in revenue, out of a total 200 companies from across the Asia-Pacific on the list for the year 2017.

The five Pakistani companies are Agriauto Industries, Cherat Packaging, Ferozsons Laboratories, Ghandhara Industries and Searle Company.

Ferozsons Laboratories, the pharmaceutical products making company founded on January 28, 1954, has been included in the list for the second time. Ferozsons grew almost 93 percent last year and market value of the company is $102 million.

It may be mentioned here that the number of Pakistani companies on this list is down from the last year's seven.

Forbes’ ‘Best under a Billion’ ranks 200 listed companies with annual revenue between $5 million and $1 billion on the basis of profitability, growth and modest indebtedness. This year, from a universe of 18,000 candidates, roughly 875 passed Forbes Asia's criteria, the publication said, adding that the list has excluded companies that traded thinly, have been trading for less than a year, and those with worrisome accounting, management, ownership or legal troubles.

Those included in the final 200 have produced the highest sales and earnings per share growth for both the most recent fiscal one and three-year periods, and the strongest five-year average return on equity, Forbes Asia said in a statement.

China-Hong Kong combine tops the list with 70 companies from there on the list this year, though that is down from 98 companies making it to the ranking in the last year 2017. Japan surprised with 38 companies making it to the list this year, triple of the 13 companies that it had on the last year's list.