Philippine Gambling Firms Invade Forbes List of Super Rich

Recent update of the Forbes Asia magazine included two Philippine gambling companies in its annual “Best under a Billion” list. The companies in question, PhilWeb Corp. and Pacific Online System, the online provider for Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), operate in full compliance with Philippine gambling laws.

The “Best under a Billion” list ranks top 200 public companies in the Asian Pacific region, with annual revenues between $5 million and $1 billion. Pacific Online provides system solutions for PCSO in Visayas and Mindanao provinces. The company is affiliated with Belle Corp and is headed by Willy N. Ocier. According to Philippines gambling news the company revealed $29 million in sales and $10 million in net income for the last year. The company’s market value is $91 million.

PhilWeb operates internet gambling cafes and online casinos in Philippines and is regarded as the largest online gaming enterprise in the region. It had $24 million in sales and $16 million in net income during the last 12 months. The company is valued at around $453 million.

Sources close to the company stipulate that PhilWeb accommodates over 60,000 visitors per day through its online offers, sports betting kiosks and mobile gaming solutions. Since its venture into gaming business five years ago, it generated P260 billion in gross wagers.

Forbes’ list included a multitude of Chinese and Hong Kong companies, 65 out of the 200. The companies on the list include a sports apparel manufacturer, e-commerce technology company and automobile components firm.

Editor of Forbes Asia, Tim Ferguson, had the following to say: "Essentially these are our picks of the companies that have best managed through the economic volatility that began in 2008. Most navigated the global credit crunch with little to no debt on their balance sheets. On average, the companies on the list have a 13% debt-to-equity ratio, and 67 of these companies carry no debt at all."