Fourteen Malaysian firms on Forbes Global 2000

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) logo is seen at the bank's Wisma Sime Darby, Kuala Lumpur branch. (Pic taken by Hafidz Mahpar for Star Online)

KUALA LUMPUR: Fourteen Malaysian companies made the cut for this year’s Forbes Global 2000 list, with Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) once again leading the group.

The Malaysian companies that are sharing the spotlight with some of the world’s biggest, most powerful and valuable public firms are:

Maybank (ranked 390th), Tenaga Nasional Bhd (490), Public Bank Bhd (632), CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (671), Sime Darby Bhd (791), Genting Bhd (1,259), Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (1,319), RHB Bank Bhd (1,405), Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (1,472), Axiata Group Bhd (1,510), MISC Bhd (!,543), Maxis Bhd (1,596), AmBank Group (1,771) and Petronas Gas Bhd (1,881).

In a statement on Wednesday, Forbes said the ranking was based on a mix of four metrics, namely sales, profits, assets and market value.

Despite a slowing of the global initial public offering (IPO) market, Forbes said there were several newcomers to the list, with Asia leading the pack with 13 companies joining the Global 2000 ranks.

“The highest debut at No. 55 is Postal Savings Bank of China. The September 2016 IPO was the year’s largest, worth US$8.1bil (RM34bil). In the US, the most high-profile company to enter the list was Snap Inc. 

“The company’s US$24bil (RM103bil) market cap helped it earn a spot at No. 1,693.”

The top 10 companies on the list are: Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of America, Bank of China, Apple and Toyota Motor.

Forbes said the 2017 Global 2000 list faced much pressure amid unsteady geopolitical climates and slowing economies.

“Yet, in aggregate, these 2,000 companies have managed to come out stronger than last year, with increased sales, profits, assets and market values.

“Despite slowing gross domestic product figures, China and the US, whose companies make up more than 40% of the list, continue to dominate the top 10 list with financial giants.”