The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Chinese banking giants dominated business bible Forbes’ 15th annual Global 2000 list.
The list ranked the biggest, most powerful and most valuable companies in the world.
The ranking was based on a mix of four metrics: sales, profits, assets and market value.
The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China was named the top firm on the 2017 Global 2000 list for the fifth consecutive year, while China Construction Bank remained in second place.
The rest of China’s “Big Four” banks—the Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China —dropped on the list, but remained in the top 10.
Berkshire Hathaway, the largest company in the United States, moves up one spot to third place on this year’s list.
Rounding out the top 10 are JPMorgan Chase (No. 4), Wells Fargo (No. 5), Agricultural Bank of China (No. 6), Bank of America (No. 7), Bank of China (No. 8), Apple (No. 9) and Toyota Motor (No. 10).
Despite a slowing of the global initial public offering (IPO) market, there are several newcomers on the list.
Asia leads with 13 companies joining the Global 2000 ranks. The highest debut, at No. 55, is made by the Postal Savings Bank of China.
The September 2016 IPO was the year’s largest, worth $8.1 billion. In the US, the most high-profile company to enter the list was Snap Inc. The company’s $24-billion market cap helped it earn a spot at No. 1,693.
“Forbes’ 2017 Global 2000 list faces much pressure amid unsteady geopolitical climates and slowing economies. Yet, in aggregate, these 2,000 companies have managed to come out stronger than last year, with increased sales, profits, assets and market values. Despite slowing GDP figures, China and the US, whose companies make up more than 40 percent of the list, continue to dominate the top 10 list with financial giants,” said Halah Touryalai, deputy editor, Investing, Forbes Media.
“This list illustrates that, in spite of headwinds, the world’s dominant companies remain a steady force in an unpredictable and challenging environment,” he added.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) decreased year over year, with several deals being withdrawn.
The most notable of these, Pfizer (No. 47) and Allergan (No. 149), ended merger talks in April 2017 after the US government proposed regulations that would stop corporate inversions. Successful deals included Anheuser-Bush InBev (No. 126), which completed its merger with SAB Miller in October 2016.
European supermarket companies Royal Ahold and Delhaize combined to form Royal Ahold Delhaize in July 2016. The new company is ranked No. 330.
The top five country of companies in the list are the US with 565 firms; China (mainland and Hong Kong), 263; Japan, 229; United Kingdom, 91; and South Korea, 64.