JOLLIBEE, AYALA, ABOITIZ AMONG WORLD’S ‘BEST EMPLOYERS’

Three Philippine blue chips— fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp. as well as conglomerates Ayala Corp. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV)—landed on Forbes magazine’s 2021 list of the world’s “best employers.”

South Korean conglomerate Samsung topped the global list, which comprised 750 companies, followed by American tech firms IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Dell Technologies.

Chinese telco equipment firm Huawei ranked eighth while software service provider Adobe was ninth. Automotive giant BMW completed the top 10 list.

Jollibee was ranked 256th on this global list, while Ayala and Aboitiz—two of the country’s oldest business houses—ranked 487th and 665th, respectively.

Jollibee, one of Asia’s most valuable restaurant groups, operates over 5,800 stores across 17 brands in 34 countries. In the Philippines alone, it operates 3,217 stores, 15 manufacturing plants and 19 distribution centers, directly supporting 11,808 jobs, based on its 2020 annual report.

Emergency response

When the COVID-19 pandemic reached the Philippines early last year, Jollibee allocated P1 billion in emergency response fund to provide local employees with financial support even as it spent P7 billion for a global business restructuring program.

At end-2020, Ayala Corp. recorded more than 60,000 direct permanent employees, 57 percent of whom consisted of women. The conglomerate has interests in property, banking, telecommunications, renewable energy and infrastructure, health care and electronics manufacturing.

Based on its 2020 sustainability report, Ayala implements a recruitment, compensation and retrenchment policy to ensure inclusivity and nondiscrimination. It also provides competitive compensation and benefits packages that are benchmarked against industry standards.

Persons with disabilities have also been hired by some business units, recognizing their competencies and skills that are aligned with the job opening at hand.

Homegrown fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. (JFC) has raised the curtain for preferred shares as a fund-raising option for restaurant chains with the completion of its P12-billion preferred shares offering, which was warmly received by the local capital market.

The offering was oversubscribed by 3.11 times the base offer of eight billion shares which were sold at P1,000 per share, JFC president Ernesto Tanmantiong said during the ceremony marking the listing of the preferred shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Thursday.

JFC sold P12 billion worth of preferred shares, including the overallotment option of four billion shares. Series A carries an interest rate of 3.2821 percent a year until the third year, while series B carries 4.2405 percent for the first five years. Interest rates will be adjusted upward after their synthetic maturity dates.

“The event is truly momentous for us. The listing of the preferred shares is not only a first for the Jollibee Group of companies, it is also the first for the food service industry in the Philippines,” Tanmantiong said.

Retail investors

This marks JFC’s return to the local capital market after its 1993 initial public offering.

He said retail investors accounted for the vast majority of the subscription to these preferred shares.

“The loyalty of Jollibee’s customers was also reflected from the overwhelming demand for the shares and allowed them to price at the tightest end,” said Eduardo Francisco, president of BDO Capital Investment Corp., which is among the joint lead underwriter and bookrunner with BPI Capital Corp. (issue manager), China Bank Capital Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp.

Strengthening balance sheet

For the first tranche, part of the net proceeds will be used for the partial redemption of JFC’s senior perpetual securities. This will allow JFC to retire US dollar perpetual bonds and reduce other obligations which will strengthen its balance sheet and eliminate foreign exchange exposure. The rest of the proceeds will fund capital expenditures for its commissary and new store expansion.

“The success of the preferred shares offering reflects the confidence that investors have in the company’s leadership and management,” PSE chair Jose Pardo said during the listing ceremony. “Despite the challenging global environment, there is no stopping the growth and expansion of JFC.”

“This follow-on offer of JFC is a reminder to all listed company that may need funds for acquisition or capital expenditures that the stock market will always be an available avenue for capital raising,” Pardo added.