The 2021 Fortune 500 list was released on August 2, which revealed the total operating revenue of the 500 listed companies in 2020 of about US $31.7 trillion, equivalent to one-third of the global GDP of that year.
In this year’s ranking, Chinese enterprises account for three of the top five, including State Grid, China National Petroleum, and Sinopec Group. China Southern Power Grid rose to 91st this year. Among the Chinese five power generation groups, China Energy Investment ranks the highest at 101st.
The number of companies from Chinese mainland (including Hong Kong) ranked first in second consecutive years, reaching 135, an increase of 11 over the previous year. With companies from Taiwan, a total of 143 Chinese companies are on the list, up 10 from 133 last year.
Jinneng Holding Group rose the fastest this year, ranking 138th from previous 463rd; Shandong Energy Group ranked 70th from previous 225th. However, the rise in the ranking of the two companies is due to the reorganization and merger between several of the world’s top 500 energy and mining companies. Shandong Energy Group and Yankuang Group are jointly restructured, and Jinneng Holding Group has restructured and integrated from several Fortune 500 companies, including the original Datong Coal Mine Group, Shanxi Jincheng Anthracite Coal Mining Group, Jinneng Group and Lu’An Chemical Group.
Due to the huge impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global enterprises since last year, the total net profit of all listed companies this year was US $1.6 trillion, a sharp decrease of 20% year-on-year, the largest decline since 2009.
Some 69 companies failed to make profits, an increase of 24 over the previous year. PEMEX, which ranked 257th, lost US $23.7 billion, ranking first in the loss list for the second consecutive year. A total of six companies in China suffered losses, and Chemchina suffered the most losses, with a loss of about US $816 million.
Seen from the 26 industries on the list, the total profits of 21 industries decreased year-on-year. The profit of the energy industry decreased the most, as 97%.
Although the pandemic brought difficulties in business in 2020, the average sales revenue and average profit of the listed companies in China were basically the same as that of last year.
Sinochem and Chemchina ranked 151st and 161st respectively, which have been officially restructured into a new Sinochem Holdings in this May. After the reorganization, the company’s strength in life science, material science and other fields was further enhanced. It can be predicted that by next year, Sinochem’s ranking and influence among the world’s top 500 will be greatly improved.
