Photo: AFP/NurPhoto
Alexandra Zoltai
08/11/2024 15:34
Chinese power utility China State Grid Corporation (SGCC) ranked third on this year's Fortune Global 500 list with $545.95 billion in revenue in 2023. Fortune magazine's annual list ranks companies based on their revenue, with the top two spots going to US retail chain Walmart and online retailer Amazon.
Two Chinese energy companies, Sinopec Group (429.7 billion USD) and China National Petroleum Corp (421.71 billion USD), came in fifth and sixth, making it three Chinese companies in the global top 10 this year. SGCC, founded in 2002, is the world's largest utility company, with the construction and operation of power grids as its core business. The state-owned company is key to national energy security and economic livelihoods, and its mission is to provide a safer, cleaner, more economical and sustainable energy supply.
The SGCC provides electricity to more than 1.1 billion people in 26 provinces, autonomous regions and cities in China, covering 88 percent of China's territory. The company also has assets abroad, including in the Philippines, Brazil, Portugal, Australia and Italy.
The Sinopec Group is the largest supplier of oil and petrochemical products in China, as well as the largest refining company and the second largest chemical company in the world. China National Petroleum Corp is China's major national oil and gas company and one of the world's largest integrated energy groups.
The top 10 Chinese companies (by revenue) include two Chinese banks with branches in Budapest, China Construction Bank and Bank of China. The list of 500 includes 133 Chinese companies with total revenues of around 11 trillion USD in 2023, including ten automotive and auto parts companies. Chery made the list for the first time, finishing 385th with revenues of 39.1 billion USD. BYD's revenue increased from 63 billion USD to 85.1 billion USD this year, moving up 69 places in the ranking from last year.
BYD is the 40th largest Chinese company and the world's largest electric car manufacturer, and is now one of the most popular electric car brands in the world. At the end of last year, it announced a record investment in Hungary to set up a factory in Szeged. In addition to Hungary, the company is setting up factories in Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil and Uzbekistan, among others. It was one of the biggest official sponsors of the 2024 European Football Championship.
CATL, the 68th largest Chinese company, is a Chinese battery manufacturing and technology company founded in 2011, specialising in the production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems, as well as battery management systems. It is also important from a Hungarian perspective, as a 3000 billion HUF investment has been announced in Debrecen in 2022.
The author is a researcher at the Eurasia Center