Eight Thai firms are listed in the Forbes Asia Best Under a Billion (BUB) list of the top small- to medium-sized companies in the Asia Pacific region.
Two additional Thai companies have made the list in 2013. The eight listed this year are - Aikchol Hospital, BEC World, Malee Sampran, Master Ad, Premier Marketing, Robinson Department Stores, Sahamit Machinery and Workpoint Entertainment.
The Best Under a Billion list honours 200 leading public companies in the Asia Pacific region with annual revenue between US$5 million and $1 billion. Forbes editors select the best 200 out of a universe of 15,000 companies based on criteria such as rising financial performance, sufficiently broad and private share ownership, reasonable debt levels and profitability.
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For the overall list, Chinese firms once again dominated while a rising number of Japanese companies also appeared on the list, but the number of Indian companies continued to drop.
Companies from China and Hong Kong dominated the list this year with 63 entries. Add those domiciled in Taiwan and the figure reached 89 companies from Greater China. Among the notable Chinese honorees is Xinghui Auto Model, whose shipments of remote-controlled and die-cast cars delivered a 34.7% jump in net profit in 2012; and Dukang Distillers, a liquor maker of traditional baijui (white liquor) which is gaining popularity.
A rising number of Japanese companies made the list with 17 entries compared to just four or less in recent years. The highly popular Cookpad Japanese website allows users to share recipes, cooking ideas and photos of their culinary creations. More than 80% of Japanese women in their 20s and 30s use Cookpad. The company has an agreement with Yahoo, Japan's most visited website, where Yahoo puts a direct link to Cookpad on its home page.
Tim Ferguson, editor of Forbes Asia, said the growth of China, the world's second largest economy, continues to be central to the success of many firms on the Best Under a Billion list. Japan's stronger showing also suggests that prospects for the country's economic rebound are looking better and entrepreneurial energy may be fuelling a comeback.
Taiwan has the second highest number of companies on the list at 26, three more than the previous year. India came in third with 19 companies, the lowest level since 2007. Two countries dropped off without any representation, Sri Lanka (two listees last year) and New Zealand (one last year). Philippines only managed one company compared to three in 2012.
Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia also saw a few companies dropped off the list.
Australia and Malaysia both have 12 companies, down two from the previous year, whereas Indonesia, with four companies, is down three from last year.
Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam added more companies to this year's list. Singapore, with seven companies, is up three more, while South Korea and Vietnam have two more each, at 18 and 10 respectively.
For the full list, please see Asia's 200 Best under A Billion.