BusinessWorld facts for kids
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![]() The front page of BusinessWorld on
April 13, 2018 |
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Type | Daily newspaper (excluding weekends) |
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Format | Broadsheet |
Owner(s) | Philstar Daily Inc., (70%) World Press, Inc. (30%) |
Founder(s) | Raúl L. Locsin† |
Publisher | BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation |
Founded | February 27, 1967 (21,374 issues) |
Political alignment | Centre |
Language | English |
Headquarters | 95 Balete Drive Extension, Brgy. Kristong Hari, New Manila, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines |
City | Manila |
Country | Philippines |
Circulation | 117,000 (as of March 31, 2014) |
BusinessWorld is a newspaper from the Philippines. It focuses on business news. It's read by many people across the country. It started in 1967 as Business Day. It was the first daily business newspaper in Southeast Asia.
Contents
History of BusinessWorld
The Start: Business Day (1967–1987)
Raul L. Locsin was a business reporter. He worked for the Manila Chronicle in 1963. He helped create Economic Monitor, the first business weekly in the Philippines. Then, he started Business Day. This was the first daily business newspaper in Southeast Asia.
The first issue of Business Day came out on February 27, 1967. It promised to report news "competently and responsibly." As the main editor, Locsin wanted to make business and economics easy to understand for everyone. During a time of strict government rule (1972–1981), Business Day was the only newspaper in Manila that was owned independently. It became known for being accurate. Locsin believed a newspaper was a "public trust." He promised that writers could share their honest opinions. Business Day even published articles that questioned the government.
In 1987, after some staff went on strike, Locsin decided to close Business Day. He had just finished paying off the newspaper's debts. Many of his former staff gathered outside his house. They wanted him to come back. They formed a new company called BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation. Locsin agreed to be the publisher, president, and editor.
Becoming BusinessWorld (1987–2003)
The first issue of BusinessWorld came out on July 27, 1987. It took over from Business Day. In the same year, BusinessWorld was the first local newspaper to use desktop publishing. This meant they used computers to design pages. In 1991, they started their own printing company, World Press, Inc., in Antipolo, Rizal.
World Press began with a five-unit printing press. By 1995, it had nine units. Two years later, it had special equipment for printing in full color. This made BusinessWorld the first newspaper in the country to be printed completely in color.
BusinessWorld used to be in Ortigas Center, Pasig. In 1994, it moved to its current home in New Manila, Quezon City. The building was designed by Leandro V. Locsin. He was a famous architect and Raul Locsin's cousin.
Raul Locsin passed away in May 2003 after a long illness. His wife, Leticia Locsin, took over as president, publisher, and chairperson. She passed away in August 2005. Their daughter, Barbara Locsin, led the paper for a while. Later, Anthony Cuaycong became the chief operating officer.
New Ownership and Growth
In 2004, a company called Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) bought a small part of BusinessWorld. This was done through PLDT's MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.
In September 2013, MediaQuest took more control of the newspaper. Its company, Hastings Holdings Inc., increased its share from 30% to 76.67%. They also invested ₱100 million into the company. Orlando Vea, a co-founder of Smart Communications, became the acting president. In March 2014, José Roberto "Roby" A. Alampay became the editor-in-chief. He also led another news website, InterAksyon.com.
In July 2015, The Philippine Star bought the 76.63% share of BusinessWorld from Hastings Holdings Inc. This meant The Philippine Star became the main owner. Miguel G. Belmonte, the president of The Philippine Star, also became the president of BusinessWorld.
In January 2020, Wilfredo G. Reyes became the new editor-in-chief. He replaced Alampay.
BusinessWorld on TV: BusinessWorld Live
In 2018, BusinessWorld joined the One News channel. This is an English-language news channel. It is owned by Cignal TV, which is part of the MVP Group. The newspaper started its own business news show called BusinessWorld Live.
The one-hour show first aired on May 28, 2018. It is shown every weekday morning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the show's time changed. TV personalities Danie Laurel and JP Ong (later Jes delos Santos) host the program.
BusinessWorld Economic Forum
In 2016, BusinessWorld started the BusinessWorld Economic Forum. It was held in Taguig, Philippines. The first theme was "Charting Progress to 2020: What to Expect from the New Presidency." This yearly event brings together important people in business. They discuss trends and events that affect the future of business and money.
The forum has been held several times. Each time, it has a different theme and different speakers. In 2020, the event was held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.
Forum Themes Over the Years
- 2016 - "Charting Progress to 2020: What to Expect from the New Presidency".
- 2017 - "Fueling Philippine Economic Expansion Beyond 2017: The Engines of Growth".
- 2018 - "Disruptor or Disrupted? The Philippines at the Crossroads".
- 2019 - "The Fu of Business: Next-wave Disruptions & Opportunities".
- 2020 - "The Big Reshape: Towards a More Resilient, Sustainable and Inclusive Future". This was held online.
BusinessWorld Top 1000 Corporations
The BusinessWorld Top 1000 Corporations in the Philippines is a yearly list. It ranks the largest companies in the Philippines based on how much money they earn. The list gives details about each company. This includes their profits, assets, and market value. Companies that are publicly traded and based in the Philippines are included. Some well-known companies on the list are Meralco, Petron Corporation, Toyota Motor Philippines, and Nestlé Philippines.
The performance of these Top 1000 companies often shows how well the country's economy is doing. For example, in 2016, the economy grew quickly. This was reflected in the companies' results.
This list is very important for research. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (the central bank) uses it for its quarterly Business Expectations Survey. Other groups, like the Philippine Financial Stability Coordination Council (FSCC), also use the list to study companies. The FSCC includes important groups like the central bank and the Department of Finance.
A study looked at the websites of top manufacturing companies in the Philippines. It used a sample of companies from the BusinessWorld Top 1000 list for 2006. The study found that these company websites needed to be improved.
About one-third of large businesses make it onto the Top 1000 list. This list is published every year by BusinessWorld and its earlier version, Business Day. It is done with the help of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). From 1970 to 2009, companies in the industrial sector often had the most companies on the list.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies saw their earnings drop. This showed how the economy was affected. The Philippine economy shrank by 9.6% in 2020. This was the lowest it had been since the 1940s. Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) was number one on the list that year. San Miguel Corp. and SM Investments Corp. were also high on the list. Many international companies were also part of the Top 1000.
BusinessWorld researchers use a special method to create the Top 1000 list. They have a guide to identify things like sales, costs, and debt in a company's financial reports. This helps them compare companies from different industries.