Engineering and infrastructure innovator Megawide Construction Corp. received six awards in the recently concluded FinanceAsia’s Best Managed Companies Poll 2021, among them the Best Managed Listed Company in the Philippines and Southeast Asia’s Industrials Category.
FinanceAsia, a Hong Kong-based publication covering financial and capital markets in Asia, conducts an annual poll among members of the finance industry to determine the best managed companies in the region in categories that include overall management, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and corporate leadership. Capital providers, including lenders and investors, participate in the survey and voting process.
Some of the previous survey’s biggest winners include the Philippine’s oldest conglomerate, one of Asia’s biggest mall operators, and arguably the country’s most diversified utilities and infrastructure holding company.
Megawide emerged as Southeast Asia’s Best Managed Company – Industrials category and topped the following categories in the Philippines:
- Best Managed Listed Company
- Most Committed to Environmental Stewardship
- Most Committed to Social Causes
- Most Committed to the Highest Governance Best Standards
- Best CEO – Edgar Saavedra
Megawide completed a banner year in 2020, recording an all-time high of P68.4 billion in order book and steering its construction and landport businesses in the black amid the pandemic. The company also completed the new passenger terminal building at the Clark International Airport ahead of schedule and continued to pursue new, record-breaking projects, such as the Malolos-Clark Railway Project and the Suncity Hotel and Casino, and expand its Transport-Oriented Development portfolio with the awarding of the Carbon District Modernization project in Cebu City.
In 2020, the company focused its attention inwards as much as it prioritized the needs of its employees and partner communities during the crisis. This included strengthening its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) platform, which FinanceAsia’s 2021 Philippines’ Best CEO considers vital amid the debilitating impact of the pandemic.
“In 2020, we saw how critical private sector contribution and assistance through its operations were to the survival of the economy and Filipino families, and how our decisions and actions affect the well-being of our partner communities. ESG standards serve as the baseline in achieving an enterprise’s triple bottomline goal of environmental, social, and economic sustainability and ensure we meet our commitment to our stakeholders. We will forever remain grateful to our business partners and investors for recognizing and appreciating our drive to enhance our ESG program to secure the company’s long-term sustainable growth,” Megawide chairman and CEO Edgar Saavedra said.
The company employs and manages the largest, most-advanced, and environment-friendly precast technology in the local construction industry and operates the first-of-its-kind Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange as a key social infrastructure that promotes safe, secure, and efficient commuting.
Earlier this year, the company was recognized for its adherence to governance standards during the ASEAN Asset Class PLCs award hosted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Megawide was also honored with two Golden Arrows by the Institute of Corporate Directors during its Golden Arrow Awards.
“In the years to come, we will look back at 2020 as a year of change, of relentless grit amid the challenges we faced,” said Saavedra. “I believe that it will take more of these to weather the storm. But I have great faith in our Megawide family, and we are spurred on by our trade partners and host communities. We will survive and we will accomplish more in the years to come as we play an active role in Engineering a First-World Philippines,” he added.
