World's 30 biggest public companies
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Although the economy of the United States is struggling, it continues to dominate the Forbes list of world's biggest public companies with 543 members, its highest total since 2009.
Japan lost seven members, but at 251 remained the second-biggest country on the list. For the first time since the list began in 2004, the magazine said, China did not increase the number of its companies on the list.
But it still had the third-largest presence with 136 members. Forbes highlighted three Asian countries that showed standout overall growth in the list: Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
Belgium, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates had the biggest rise in company market values, growing by double digits from a year ago.
Eleven countries had only one firm on the list, including New Zealand, the Czech Republic and Vietnam. Forbes said that overall the Global 2000 companies, which employ 87 million people, had seen mostly solid growth from a year ago.
Let's take a look at world's 30 biggest public companies.
Source: Forbes
ICBC
Country: China
Sales: $134.8 billion
Profits: $37.8 billion
Assets: $2,813.5 billion
Market value: $237.3 billion
Global rank: 1
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Image: A branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Beijing.
Photographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
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China Construction Bank
Country: China
Sales: $113.1 billion
Profits: $30.6 billion
Assets: $2,241 billion
Market value: $202 billion
Global rank: 2
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Image: A construction site of the Hong Kong headquarters of China Construction Bank (Asia) is seen in front of Bank of America Tower at Hong Kong's financial Central district.
Photographs: Bobby Yip/Reuters
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JP Morgan Chase
Country: The United States
Sales: $108.2 billion
Profits: $21.3 billion
Assets: $2,359.1 billion
Market value: $191.4 billion
Global rank: 3
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Image: A man walks past JP Morgan Chase's international headquarters on Park Avenue in New York.
Photographs: Andrew Burton/Reuters
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General Electric
Country: The United States
Sales: $147.4 billion
Profits: $13.6 billion
Assets: $685.3 billion
Market value: $243.7 billion
Global rank: 4
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Image: A man enters the General Electric building at 1250 Avenue of the Americas, also known as 30 Rockefeller Plaza, in New York.
Photographs: Brendan McDermid/Reuters
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ExxonMobil
Country: The United States
Sales: $420.7 billion
Profits: $44.9 billion
Assets: $333.8 billion
Market value: $400.4 billion
Global rank: 5
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Image: Belgian headquarters of oil giant ExxonMobil in Machelen, northern Brussels.
Photographs: Sebastien Pirlet/Reuters
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HSBC
Country: The United Kingdom
Sales: $104.9 billion
Profits: $14.3 billion
Assets: $2,684.1 billion
Market value: $201.3 billion
Global rank: 6
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Image: Cars drive past the Angel of Independence monument and British bank HSBC's headquarters in Mexico City.
Photographs: Tomas Bravo/Reuters
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Shell
Country: The Netherlands
Sales: $467.2 billion
Profits: $26.6 billion
Assets: $360.3 billion
Market value: $213.1 billion
Global rank: 7
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Image: Shell's headquarters in the Hague, the Netherlands.
Photographs: Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/Reuters
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Agricultural Bank of China
Country: China
Sales: $103 billion
Profits: $23 billion
Assets: $2,124.2 billion
Market value: $150.8 billion
Global rank: 8
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Image: Red lanterns are hung at the headquarters of the Agricultural Bank of China in Beijing.
Photographs: Bobby Yip/Reuters
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Berkshire Hathaway
Country: The United States
Sales: $162.5 billion
Profits: $14.8 billion
Assets: $427.5 billion
Market value: $252.8 billion
Global rank: 9
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Image: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett attends the Allen & Co Media Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, United States.
Photographs: Jim Urquhart/Reuters
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PetroChina
Country: China
Sales: $98.1 billion
Profits: $22.1 billion
Assets: $2,033.8 billion
Market value: $131.7 billion
Global rank: 10
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Image: Employees spray water to cool down oil tanks at a storage facility belonging to PetroChina oil, in Suijing, Sichuan Province, China.
Photographs: Stringer/Reuters
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Bank of China
Country: China
Sales: $98.1 billion
Profits: $22.1 billion
Assets: $2,033.8 billion
Market value: $131.7 billion
Global rank: 11
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Image: A signboard of Bank of China at its branch in Beijing.
Photographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
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Wells Fargo
Country: The United States
Sales: $91.2 billion
Profits: $18.9 billion
Assets: $1,423 billion
Market value: $201.3 billion
Global rank: 12
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Image: A cable car passes the Wells Fargo Bank headquarters in the Financial District in San Francisco, California.
Photographs: Robert Galbraith/Reuters
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Chevron
Country: The United States
Sales: $222.6 billion
Profits: $26.2 billion
Assets: $233 billion
Market value: $232.5 billion
Global rank: 13
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Image: Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron gas station in Los Angeles, California.
Photographs: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
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Volkswagen
Country: Germany
Sales: $254 billion
Profits: $28.6 billion
Assets: $408.2 billion
Market value: $94.4 billion
Global rank: 14
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Image: Volkswagen cars in a delivery tower at the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Photographs: Fabian Bimmer/Reuters
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Apple
Country: The United States
Sales: $164.7 billion
Profits: $41.7 billion
Assets: $196.1 billion
Market value: $416.6 billion
Global rank: 15
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Image: A view of Apple Store on 5th Avenue in New York City.
Photographs: Lucas Jackson/Reuters
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Walmart
Country: The United States
Sales: $469.2 billion
Profits: $17 billion
Assets: $203.1 billion
Market value: $242.5 billion
Global rank: 16
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Image: Products are displayed outside a Walmart Neighborhood Market store in Bentonville, Arkansas, United States.
Photographs: Jacob Slaton/Reuters
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Gazprom
Country: Russia
Sales: $144 billion
Profits: $40.6 billion
Assets: $339.3 billion
Market value: $111.4 billion
Global rank: 17
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Image: A view of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom's headquarters in Moscow.
Photographs: Alexander Natruskin/Reuters
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BP
Country: The United Kingdom
Sales: $370.9 billion
Profits: $11.6 billion
Assets: $301 billion
Market value: $130.4 billion
Global rank: 18
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Image: A pump attendant fills cars at a BP petrol station in Moscow.
Photographs: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
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Citigroup
Country: The United States
Sales: $90.7 billion
Profits: $7.5 billion
Assets: $1,864.7 billion
Market value: $143.6 billion
Global rank: 19
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Image: Citigroup headquarters in New York.
Photographs: Jeff Zelevansky/Reuters
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Petrobas
Country: Brazil
Sales: $144.1 billion
Profits: $11 billion
Assets: $331.6 billion
Market value: $120.7 billion
Global rank: 20
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Image: An aerial view of Petrobas platform in Angra dos Reis, about 185km west of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Photographs: Sergio Moraes/Reuters
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Samsung
Country: South Korea
Sales: $187.8 billion
Profits: $21.7 billion
Assets: $196.3 billion
Market value: $174.4 billion
Global rank: 21
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Image: A Samsung outdoor advertisement sits atop an office building in Seoul, South Korea.
Photographs: Lee Jae-won/Reuters
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BNP Paribas
Country: France
Sales: $126.2 billion
Profits: $8.6 billion
Assets: $2,504.2 billion
Market value: $71.3 billion
Global rank: 22
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Image: BNP Paribas plaque is seen on the roof of one of their main banks in central Paris.
Photographs: Charles Platiau/Reuters
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Total
Country: France
Sales: $240.5 billion
Profits: $14.1 billion
Assets: $224.1 billion
Market value: $115.5 billion
Global rank: 23
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Image: A view of Total building named Total Coupole Tower, centre, at the La Defense business district in Courbevoie near Paris.
Photographs: Jacky Naegelen/Reuters
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AT&T
Country: The United States
Sales: $127.4 billion
Profits: $7.3 billion
Assets: $272.3 billion
Market value: $200.1 billion
Global rank: 24
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Image: A man uses mobile phone while walking across 5th Avenue in New York.
Photographs: Lucas Jackson/Reuters
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Allianz
Country: Germany
Sales: $140.3 billion
Profits: $6.8 billion
Assets: $915.8 billion
Market value: $66.4 billion
Global rank: 25
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Image: Allianz's main office in Cologne, Germany.
Photographs: Michaela Rehle/Reuters
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Sinopec
Country: China
Sales: $411.7 billion
Profits: $10.1 billion
Assets: $200 billion
Market value: $106.9 billion
Global rank: 26
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Image: A worker performs a routine check to the valves at a natural gas appraisal well of Sinopec in Langzhong county, Sichuan province, China.
Photographs: Stringer/Reuters
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Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
Country: Japan
Sales: $59 billion
Profits: $11.9 billion
Assets: $2,653.1 billion
Market value: $85.7 billion
Global rank: 27
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Image: A pedestrian walks past a signboard of a branch bank of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in Tokyo.
Photographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
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Bank of America
Country: The United States
Sales: $100.1 billion
Profits: $4.2 billion
Assets: $2,210 billion
Market value: $135.5 billion
Global rank: 28
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Image: Pedestrians walk past a Bank of America sign on a building in Times Square in New York.
Photographs: Lucas Jackson/Reuters
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China Mobile
Country: China
Sales: $88.8 billion
Profits: $20.5 billion
Assets: $168.7 billion
Market value: $213.8 billion
Global rank: 29
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Image: A labourer works in front of a sign for China Mobile at the company's office in downtown Shanghai.
Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters
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Eni
Country: Italy
Sales: $163.7 billion
Profits: $10 billion
Assets: $185.2 billion
Market value: $86.3 billion
Global rank: 30
Image: The logo of oil company Eni at its San Donato Milanese headquarters near Milan, Italy.
Photographs: Stefano Rellandini/Reuters































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