(Yicai
Global) Aug. 3 -- China Baowu Steel Group, the world’s largest steelmaker, has
made the top 50 of the Fortune Global 500 for the first time, while debt-laden
real estate giant China Evergrande dropped out of this year’s rankings.
Having
expanded through mergers and acquisitions, Baowu ranked 44th in the world with
revenue of USD150.7 billion, up 28 places from last year, according to the list
that global media group Fortune released today.
Since
it was formed in 2016 by the merger of Shanghai-based Baosteel Group and
Wuhan-based Wuhan Steel Group, Baowu has acquired a number of steel companies
in recent years, including Magang Group Holding and Taiyuan Iron and Steel
Group. Its crude steel production has ranked first in the world for two
consecutive years.
Liaoning
Ansteel Group, another Chinese state-owned producer, rose the most on the list
after last year merging with Liaoning province’s Bensteel Group, ranking 217th
with USD59.4 billion in revenue, up 183 places from last year.
But
with the real estate sector in a slump, the number of Chinese property
companies on the list has dropped to five from eight in 2021. Besides
Evergrande, Sunac China and China Resources Land are also out of this year’s
rankings.
American
retail giant Walmart maintained its first place in the Global 500 with revenue
of USD572.8 billion, followed by US e-commerce giant Amazon and Chinese power
company State Grid. China National Petroleum and Sinopec Group, China’s two
biggest energy firms, ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.
A
total of 145 Chinese companies made the Global 500 this year, accounting for 31
percent of total revenues, surpassing the United States for the first time,
with US businesses accounting for 30 percent of total revenue.
Rebounding
from the Covid-19 pandemic, total revenue at the top 500 firms reached USD37.8
trillion, climbing 19 percent from 2021, making it the biggest annual increase
ever, Fortune added.