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This article was first published 10 years ago

World's 30 biggest public companies

Last updated on: April 19, 2013 10:01 IST

Image: A branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Beijing.
Photographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

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

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: A man walks past JP Morgan Chase's international headquarters on Park Avenue in New York.
Photographs: Andrew Burton/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

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

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: Belgian headquarters of oil giant ExxonMobil in Machelen, northern Brussels.
Photographs: Sebastien Pirlet/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: Cars drive past the Angel of Independence monument and British bank HSBC's headquarters in Mexico City.
Photographs: Tomas Bravo/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: Shell's headquarters in the Hague, the Netherlands.
Photographs: Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: Red lanterns are hung at the headquarters of the Agricultural Bank of China in Beijing.
Photographs: Bobby Yip/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett attends the Allen & Co Media Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, United States.
Photographs: Jim Urquhart/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

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

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: A signboard of Bank of China at its branch in Beijing.
Photographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: A cable car passes the Wells Fargo Bank headquarters in the Financial District in San Francisco, California.
Photographs: Robert Galbraith/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: Gas prices are displayed at a Chevron gas station in Los Angeles, California.
Photographs: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: Volkswagen cars in a delivery tower at the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Photographs: Fabian Bimmer/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: A view of Apple Store on 5th Avenue in New York City.
Photographs: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: Products are displayed outside a Walmart Neighborhood Market store in Bentonville, Arkansas, United States.
Photographs: Jacob Slaton/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: A view of Russian gas monopoly Gazprom's headquarters in Moscow.
Photographs: Alexander Natruskin/Reuters

Gazprom

Country: Russia

Sales: $144 billion

Profits: $40.6 billion

Assets: $339.3 billion

Market value: $111.4 billion

Global rank: 17

...

Tags: Gazprom , Russia

World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: A pump attendant fills cars at a BP petrol station in Moscow.
Photographs: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: Citigroup headquarters in New York.
Photographs: Jeff Zelevansky/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: An aerial view of Petrobas platform in Angra dos Reis, about 185km west of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Photographs: Sergio Moraes/Reuters

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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Tags: Brazil

World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: A Samsung outdoor advertisement sits atop an office building in Seoul, South Korea.
Photographs: Lee Jae-won/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: BNP Paribas plaque is seen on the roof of one of their main banks in central Paris.
Photographs: Charles Platiau/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

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

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: A man uses mobile phone while walking across 5th Avenue in New York.
Photographs: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: Allianz's main office in Cologne, Germany.
Photographs: Michaela Rehle/Reuters

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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Tags: Germany

World's 30 biggest public companies

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

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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Tags: China

World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: A pedestrian walks past a signboard of a branch bank of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in Tokyo.
Photographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: Pedestrians walk past a Bank of America sign on a building in Times Square in New York.
Photographs: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

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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World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: A labourer works in front of a sign for China Mobile at the company's office in downtown Shanghai.
Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters

China Mobile

Country: China

Sales: $88.8 billion

Profits: $20.5 billion

Assets: $168.7 billion

Market value: $213.8 billion

Global rank: 29

...

Tags: China

World's 30 biggest public companies

Image: The logo of oil company Eni at its San Donato Milanese headquarters near Milan, Italy.
Photographs: Stefano Rellandini/Reuters

Eni

Country: Italy

Sales: $163.7 billion

Profits: $10 billion

Assets: $185.2 billion

Market value: $86.3 billion

Global rank: 30

Tags: Italy