SM Surpasses PLDT as Biggest Philippine Stock: Southeast Asia

SM Investments Corp. leapfrogged Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. to become the nation’s most valuable stock, as Southeast Asia’s fastest economic growth prompted a shift in consumer spending to property and leisure.

SM Investments, the holding company of the country’s richest man Henry Sy, rose 0.2 percent on Dec. 28, boosting its market capitalization to 549.5 billion pesos ($13.4 billion), compared with a value of 546.6 billion pesos for Philippine Long Distance, or PLDT. The Philippine stock market was shut on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 for holidays.