Four Taiwan enterprises appear this year in Asia's Fab 50, an annual compilation of outstanding firms in the Asia-Pacific region released by US-based Forbes magazine on Wednesday. “Economies around Asia bounced back last year,” Forbes said. “Earnings, revenues and stock prices soared almost across the board after a rocky time the previous year.” The four Taiwanese firms on the list are Acer Inc., HTC Corp., MediaTek Inc. and China Life Insurance Co. Their respective market values as of Sept. 1 were US$6.4 billion, US$15.1 billion, US$15 billion and US$1.4 billion, with sales of US$17.9 billion, US$4.5 billion, $3.6 billion and US$3.1 billion. Acer maintained its place on the list for the fourth straight year, while HTC appeared for the third year in a row. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. fell off the list for the first time since it began to be compiled in 2005. “The contract manufacturer, also known as Foxconn, burgeoned with business from Apple and other electronics makers, only to stumble on labor issues,” Forbes noted. Want Want China Holdings Ltd. and Tingyi Holding Corp., two Taiwanese-invested companies headquartered in China, also made it into the top 50. India and China dominated the list with 16 firms each. According to Forbes, to make it into Asia's Fab 50, companies must have at least US$3 billion in revenue or market capitalization. Then their five-year record for revenue, operating earnings, return on capital, share-price movements and outlook are evaluated. In another report, the total value of Taiwan's top 20 global brands is estimated at US$9.36 billion.
