Oil giants lead nation' s Top 500 list
- Source: Global Times
- [05:01 September 07 2009]
- Comments
The 2009 list of China's Top 500 enterprises was released Saturday in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, with big State-owned companies dominating the list.
Sinopec Group topped the list with a revenue of 1.46 trillion yuan ($213.7 billion), with China National Petroleum Corporation and State Grid Corporation ranking second and third respectively.
Altogether 331 companies on the list are State-owned with an overall revenue of 22 trillion yuan ($3.22 trillion), accounting for nearly 85 percent of the total revenue of the 500 companies.
The minimum required amount of operating income to be on the list was $1.5 billion, the highest threshold since the annual list was compiled in 2002.
Among the 500 companies, 57 earned more than $14.6 billion dollars of revenue each.
"Compared with major foreign enterprises, Chinese firms grow more quickly," said Wang Zhongyu, president of China Enterprise Confederation and China Enterprise Directors Association, which introduced the Top 500 list.
"The average revenue of the Top 500 companies is 52 billion yuan ($7.6 billion) this year, 3.33 times more than that of 2002," Wang said.
One of the ways some companies have grown so quickly is by joining up with or buying out competing firms.
A total of 150 companies have expanded rapidly with relatively low costs by means of mergers and acquisitions.
"We hope to see a more well-organized and profitable steel group," a representative from State-owned Shandong Steel, who preferred not to be named, told the Global Times on sidelines of the event.
Shandong Steel, which recently acquired privately-owned Rizhao Steel, ranked 47 on the list.
Many of the Top 500 companies are from three industries: ferrous metals, construction, and coal mining.
Only six computer and components manufacturing companies are on this year's list, half the amount of last year. Additionally, very few information technology companies made the Top 500.
"The top 10 most profitable companies on the Fortune 500 are almost all in IT, pharmaceuticals, web-based services, and insurance. The top 10 most profitable companies on China's Top 500 are in liquor manufacturing, banking, and hydropower industries," said Xiong Xiaoge, vice-president of International Data Group, one of the leading technology and media companies in the world.
"Learning how to apply and develop IT is critical for Chinese companies' long-term development," Xiong said.
The service industry was also underrepresented on the Top 500.
"We should focus on the growth of the service industry," An Lin, president of Beijing Truth United Management Consulting Co, told the Global Times. "If China depends mainly on the manufacturing industry, economic growth may not be sustainable."
Only 134 non-manufacturing companies made the list accounting for just under 38 percent of the total revenue of the China Top 500.
Li Rongrong, chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, warned that some of the Top 500 companies may actually be weaker than they appear.
"A small, but strong company is able to grow steadily. But a big company that is weak will eventually fail," he said.
