Singapore’s Trafigura Tops Fortune’s SE Asia 500 List

Fortune, a global multi-platform media company, on Thursday unveiled the 2025 Southeast Asia 500 rankings, the second annual list of the largest companies in the region, ranked by revenue for the 2024 fiscal year.

The seven countries in last year’s inaugural Southeast Asia 500 list, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Cambodia, return in 2025, and continue to make their mark on the region’s economy.

Indonesia leads with 109 companies, while Thailand follows with 100. Malaysia has 92 companies on the list, surpassing Singapore’s 81. Vietnam’s presence on the list has grown to 76, while the Philippines contributes 40 and Cambodia rounds out the list with two.

Singapore-headquartered commodities trader Trafigura earned the top spot on the Fortune Southeast Asia 500 for a second successive year, generating more than $243 billion in revenue in 2024, followed by Thailand’s PTT (second place), Indonesia’s Pertamina (third), and Singapore’s food and agribusiness powerhouses Wilmar (fourth) and Olam (fifth). These top five companies generated nearly $516 billion in revenue, or 28% of all 500 companies combined.

Together, the top 10 generated $660 billion, 36% of the list’s total revenue, while the top 20 accounted for $836 billion, nearly half the combined revenue of all 500 companies.

Notably, Singapore-based companies generated $637 billion in 2024, underscoring the city-state’s role as a regional business hub and accounting for just over a third of the Southeast Asia 500’s total revenue.

Collectively, companies on the 2025 list generated $1.82 trillion in revenue in 2024, up from $1.79 trillion the year before. The minimum revenue threshold to be included on the 2025 list was $349.4 million.

Clay Chandler, Executive Editor, Asia, said that Fortune’s interest in the region reflects Southeast Asia’s growing importance as an engine of global growth. The region has become a crucial manufacturing and export hub, which is drawing significant capital flows.

This momentum has been further fuelled by Trump-era tariffs, which have reshaped global trade dynamics and driven a shift towards Southeast Asia, Chandler said.

Energy Firms on Top

Energy sector, whether resource extraction, power generation, or electrical transmission, has dominated the 2025 list, accounting for almost a third of its total revenue. Thai oil refiner and energy company, Bangchak, gained a place among top 20 companies with a 47% jump in revenue.

Financial firms represented Southeast Asia’s second-largest sector. Significantly, 13 banks and financial firms are among the top 20 most profitable companies with Singapore’s DBS leading, both in terms of revenue and earnings, for a second year.

Fast-growers in revenue terms included newcomers to the list, Malaysian precision manufacturing company NationGate, Indonesian mining and energy firm, Petrindo Jaya Kreasi and Vietnam’s transport infrastructure and automotive services company, Tasco JSC, as well as returning companies such as the Philippines’ online gaming firm, Digiplus Interactive, and travel and transportation companies like Singapore aviation catering and logistics firm SATS, Changi Airport Group and Airports of Thailand.

In 2024, the top 20 fast-growers captured strong tailwinds from rebounding tourism, resource demand (coal, nickel, energy), digital transformation, and industrial growth in Southeast Asia.

In a positive sign for female leadership in the region, Fortune’s analysts noted there are 37 female CEOs leading Southeast Asia 500 companies, up from 29 reported last year.

There were also 37 women holding the position of chairman. This growth in diversity, alongside the ten CEOs in their 30s, underscores the region’s evolving leadership landscape. The average age of the chief executives leading the 500 companies is 58.