Companies on the list of the China Top 500 Enterprises in 2006 posted total operating revenues of 14.14 trillion yuan (1.77 trillion US dollars) last year, accounting for 77.6 percent of the gross domestic product.

The China Top 500 Enterprises 2006 Analysis Report said in Beijing Saturday that the Top 500 reaped combined profits of 642.8 billion yuan (80.4 billion US dollars) in 2005, up 22 percent year on year.

Sinopec was ranked number one with operating revenues of up to 823 billion yuan (102.9 billion US dollars), up 29.75 percent from 2004, and profits of 21.9 billion yuan (2.7 billion US dollars), up 108 percent.

The report by the China Enterprise Confederation (CEC) and China Enterprise Directors Association (CEDA) said the proportion of operating revenue of the Top 500 to dross domestic product, although not a direct indicator of contribution to the national wealth, reflected the important role and influence of the Top 500.

It rose steadily from 55.7 percent in 2001 to 73.5 percent in 2004.

According to the report, the petrochemical, natural gas extraction, banking and ferrous metals industries represented profits of 313.8 billion yuan (39 billion US dollars) in 2005, accounting for nearly half of the total profits of the Top 500.

Second to fifth rankings went respectively to the State Grid, the China National Petroleum Corporation, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Mobile.

The report said the high profits in the petrochemical and natural gas extraction industries, accounting for 20.6 percent of the Top 500, resulted from monopolistic market positions, strong demand and price increases. Meanwhile, the high profit in the banking industry, accounting for 19.6 percent, was due to share-holding reforms in recent years.

1

2

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)