HSBC Tops Forbes 2000 List Of World's Largest Companies

by Mary Swire, for LawAndTax-News.com, Hong Kong

07 April 2008

Banking giant HSBC announced on Friday that it has jumped two places to top the latest Forbes 2000 list of the world's largest companies, the first time a non-US company has led the rankings since their launch in 2004.

The annual index surveyed blue-chip firms in 26 industries across 60 countries and ranked them according to a composite of sales, profits, assets and market value.

HSBC is one of five high performers from the banking industry, having delivered 26% annual average growth in revenue and 31% in net income over the past five years.

In total, Forbes 2000 companies now account for USD30 trillion in revenues, USD2.4 trillion in profits, USD119 trillion in assets and USD39 trillion in market value.

Around the world, these companies employ over 72 million people.

Measured by number of companies, 315, the banking industry has the biggest presence on the Forbes 2000.

Banking also dominates in assets, with total assets of USD58.3 trillion, and profits, USD398 billion. The 123 companies in oil and gas operations lead all industries in aggregate revenues, of USD3.76 trillion, and take second place in total profits, of USD386 billion.

The US still dominates in terms of geography but its influence is on the decline, with 61 fewer entries than last year. In contrast, China, India and Brazil are rapidly adding companies to the list.

The largest non banking sector company featured this year was General Electric which placed second. Bank of America placed third, while last year's leading company, Citigroup, placed 24th.

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