Chinese firms top US on Fortune Global 500
China has 129 companies on the Fortune Global 500 list for 2019 released on Monday, the first time the number of Chinese companies on the list has surpassed that of firms based in the United States.
Of 25 new or relisted companies in the list, 13 are from China.
Tech giants Gree and Xiaomi Corp make the list for the first time, with Gree at No. 414 and Xiaomi in 468th position.
Beijing-based Xiaomi, founded nine years ago, is the youngest company on the list. With business covering smartphones, TV and smart devices, it listed on the Hong Kong stock market last year.
“It’s a proud record that we will keep in mind and bring to another level in the global expansion journey,” said Lei Jun, its founder, chairman and CEO.
Xiaomi is present in over 80 markets around the world, with rapid growth in India.
It joins other Chinese tech firms including Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com and Midea on the list.
JD.com moved up 42 places from last year to 139th, ranking first in China's Internet industry and third among global Internet companies.
In 2018, JD.com posted gross merchandise volume and annual net income of 1.7 trillion yuan (US$250 billion) and 462 billion yuan, respectively. The net service income for the year was 45.9 billion yuan, accounting for about 10 percent of total net income, indicating a more balanced income structure.
Among the top 10 companies that have the biggest jumps in rankings, six are from the Chinese mainland. Property developer Country Garden moved up 176 spots this year to be the fastest, while the other five were Alibaba (up 118 places), Yanggo Longking Group (96) , Tencent (94) , Suning.com (94) and Evergrande Group (92).
China's largest state-owned oil and gas company Sinopec Group posted total revenue of US$414.65 billion last year, an increase of 26.8 percent, climbing one spot on the Fortune Global 500 list to place second only to US retail giant Walmart.
Meanwhile, China National Petroleum, another stated-owned enterprise, grabbed the fourth spot with revenue of US$392.98 billion in 2018, while the State Grid Corp of China came fifth with revenue of US$387.06 billion.
