'Forbes' 2000 list includes 13 Thai firms

Only 13 Thai firms are ranked in Forbes Magazine's top 2000 global companies which has a growing number of Chinese firms.

While Citigroup heads the Forbes list of 2,000 global public companies, ranked on a formula of sales, profits, assets and stock-market value, Thailand's PTT was ranked No 354. PTT's market value, as of February 28, was US$17.18 billion (Bt601 billion), compared with $410.65 billion for ExxonMobil, the US firm that is the biggest company in the oil and gas category.


Among the remaining 12 Thai companies, six are in the banking sector: Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank, Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, TMB Bank and Bank of Ayudhya.

The other six are Siam Cement, Thai Oil, Advanced Info Service, Thai Airways International, Rayong Refinery and IRPC. Thai Oil, Rayong Refinery and IRPC are all connected to PTT.

The list now has 80 companies based in Hong Kong or China, including 16 additions from last year, while the US has 34 fewer companies compared with last year's rankings.

US-based Bank of America was No 2 in the global rankings, followed by British banking group HSBC, US-based conglomerate General Electric, US banking firm JP Morgan Chase and insurance giant American International Group.

Exxon Mobil, the US oil giant, was ranked seventh, followed by Royal Dutch Shell, Swiss-based UBS and Dutch-based bank ING.

The rankings differ from other lists based on stock-market value, sales or profits.

US retailer Wal-Mart Stores had the highest sales - $348 billion - but was ranked 17th on the Forbes list. Seventh-ranked ExxonMobil had the biggest profit at $39.5 billion and the highest stock market value at $410 billion.

Even with fewer US names on this year's list, the remaining US companies had a combined market capitalisation of $13.9 trillion dollars. The total revenues of the companies headquartered in Switzerland exceeded the country's gross domestic product.

The 2,000 companies saw sales up 10 per cent last year, with profits increasing 32 per cent and market value gaining 17 per cent, according to the magazine.

The 116 oil companies had the biggest revenues of any sector but the biggest profits were in banking, it added.

Argentina posted its first company on the list, Telecom Argentina, ranked 1,858th. A total of 57 countries were represented.

China's top-ranked firm was PetroChina, No 41 on the list. Toyota, No 12, was the highest-ranked Japanese firm.
BNP Paribas, No 14 overall, was the highest-ranked French firm. Allianz was No 15 and the top-ranked German company.