KUALA LUMPUR (May 25): China's banking giants continued to retain the top three spots of the Forbes Global 2000 list, with Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) topping the list for the fourth consecutive year.
Forbes said in a statement today, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China remain at the second and third spots respectively.
Nevertheless, the low oil prices has hurt oil and gas companies, such as PetroChina, which saw it fall nine spots, dropping out of the top 10. Overall, the oil and gas industry saw profits decline in 2015 and their rankings took a hit.
Berkshire Hathaway, the largest company in the United States, climbed one spot to come in at number four, followed by JPMorgan Chase & Co.
According to the statement, Japan breaks into the top 10 with Toyota Motor Corp coming in at number 10.
"The 2016 Global 2000 illustrates the headwinds public companies face from a slowing Chinese economy, the collapse in energy prices and ongoing actions by central banks in the US, Europe and Japan, among other trends," said Forbes Media senior editor Steve Schaefer.
"Still the dominant size of China's banks, which command the top three spots for a second-straight year, and the broad reach of US companies, which account for the most members of the list, 587, show that even in a year when sales, profits and market values fell in aggregate, the world's most powerful economies still produce the biggest public companies," he added.
According to Forbes, merger and acquisition activity is thriving, with 2015 being the biggest year yet.
Kraft jumped over 100 spots to number 282, after merging with Heinz. Swiss insurance company ACE acquired Chubb in January 2016; the new company is keeping the Chubb name and jumped to number 216 on the list.
Though initial public offering activity has quieted in the US, the boom continues in Asia, Forbes said, adding Japan Post Holdings, the Japanese postal service, went public in November 2015 and is the highest-ranked newcomer at number 29.
The top ten companies on the 2016 Global 2000 list are:
1. ICBC, China — banking
2. China Construction Bank, China — banking
3. Agricultural Bank of China, China — banking
4. Berkshire Hathaway, United States — conglomerate
5. JPMorgan Chase, United States — diversified financials
6. Bank of China, China — banking
7. Wells Fargo & Co, United States — banking
8. Apple Inc, United States — technology hardware and equipment
9. Exxon Mobil Corp, United States — oil and gas operations
10. Toyota, Japan — consumer durables