Top 500
The enterprise value of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese companies in aggregate dropped compared to a year ago, contrary to that of American corporations.
According to Bloomberg’s list of the world’s top 500 companies with the largest market capitalization made available on Sept. 3, the number of Japanese companies on the list decreased by four to 31 between 2013 and this year. Also, no Japanese corporation was found in the top 20.
Toyota fell from 17th place to 22nd, while Mitsubishi UFJ slid from 83rd to 109th, Softbank from 100th to 101st, and NTT DoCoMo from 112th to 124th. Honda and Nissan fell by 39 and 53 notches to 164th and 252nd, respectively.
The number of Chinese companies on the top 500 list increased by one to 23, but their overall ranks fell. For example, PetroChina and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China dropped from 10th and 11th to 16th and 19th each, alongside China Construction Bank (23rd to 28th), the Agricultural Bank of China (39th to 51st), and the Bank of China (46th to 57th). Meanwhile, Tencent climbed no less than 32 notches to 42nd.
Korean companies lost some of their presence, too. Samsung Electronics slid from 25th to 33rd, Hyundai Motor Company from 178th to 215th, POSCO from 398th to 436th, Hyundai Mobis from 409th to 453rd, and Kia Motors dropped out of the list from 415th. SK Hynix (374th) and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO, 478th) joined the ranks this year.
U.S. corporations distinguished themselves, though. Last year’s top six – Apple, Exxon Mobil, Google, Microsoft, Berkshire Hathaway, and Johnson & Johnson – retained their positions. Eight of the top 10 were American companies, with the only exception of Royal Dutch Shell (8th) and Novartis (10th). Among the top 500, 202 companies were U.S.-based, while the number was 189 last year.