The country’s leading business newspaper represents five decades of professional economic journalism.

This tradition of excellence began when BusinessDay first came off the press on February 27, 1967. In its maiden issue, the paper pledged “competent and responsible reporting of the news.”

The paper expanded its operations in the years that followed to keep in step with the growing business community, eventually making BusinessDay Southeast Asia’s first business daily.

BusinessDay was considered a standard of fairness, credibility and integrity in the journalistic world. The principles behind the paper’s existence were closely guarded by its publisher/president and editor-in-chief Raul L. Locsin.

At least twice in its history, the paper was able to withstand forces both within and outside the company. First, the martial law years failed to stop its presses. Second, the concept of professional economic journalism refused to die even as a labor problem forced the company to close shop on June 5, 1987.

The non-striking workers got together barely a month later to form BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation, ushering in the paper’s rebirth under a new name. This rebirth also saw the full computerization of its production process.

The paper underwent significant changes after Locsin died in May 2003 due to a long-term illness. His wife, Leticia Locsin, who was the executive editor and chief operating officer of the newspaper at that time, took over as president, publisher, and chairperson of the company until she passed away in August 2005. 

The year after the Locsin’s death, telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company(PLDT) acquired a minority stake in BusinessWorld through its Beneficial Trust Fund unit, MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.

The latter assumed control of the paper with its subsidiary Hastings Holdings, Inc. in September 2013 by increasing its stake from 30% to 76.67% and infusing P100 million into the company over a 12-month period. Ray C. Espinosa was appointed as BusinessWorld chairman.

On May 30, 2015, the board of directors of BusinessWorld elected The Philippine STAR President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Miguel G. Belmonte as CEO of BusinessWorld. In July that year, Philippine Star Printing Company, Inc. (PhilStar) acquired 76.63% of BusinessWorld Publishing Corp. from Hastings Holdings, Inc. in a move meant to “strengthen the distribution and operations” of the country’s premier business daily.

Despite change, BusinessWorld’s success over the years has constantly been anchored on a firm belief that a newspaper is a public trust.