The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released its annual World Investment Report 2017. This report includes a wealth of information on global trade.
One section of the report that discusses about Multi-National Companies (MNCs) (or Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs)) is of interest to global investors. The attached Excel below also shows how much revenue the top MNCs generate from foreign countries relative to total revenue.
The World’s Top 100 Non-Financial MNEs based on foreign assets in 2016 are shown in the table below:
| Rank | Corporation | Home Economy | Industry | Foreign Assets (in Millions of dollars) | Total Assets(in Millions of dollars) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Dutch Shell plc | United Kingdom | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 349 720 | 411 275 |
| 2 | Toyota Motor Corporation | Japan | Motor Vehicles | 303 678 | 435 958 |
| 3 | BP plc | United Kingdom | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 235 124 | 263 316 |
| 4 | Total SA | France | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 233 217 | 243 468 |
| 5 | Anheuser-Busch InBev NV | Belgium | Food & beverages | 208 012 | 258 381 |
| 6 | Volkswagen Group | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 197 254 | 431 888 |
| 7 | Chevron Corporation | United States | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 189 116 | 260 078 |
| 8 | General Electric Co | United States | Industrial and Commercial Machinery | 178 525 | 365 183 |
| 9 | Exxon Mobil Corporation | United States | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 165 969 | 330 314 |
| 10 | Softbank Corp | Japan | Telecommunications | 145 611 | 220 296 |
| 11 | Vodafone Group Plc | United Kingdom | Telecommunications | 143 574 | 165 367 |
| 12 | Daimler AG | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 138 967 | 256 127 |
| 13 | Honda Motor Co Ltd | Japan | Motor Vehicles | 130 067 | 169 537 |
| 14 | Apple Computer Inc | United States | Computer Equipment | 126 793 | 321 686 |
| 15 | BHP Billiton Group Ltd | Australia | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 118 953 | 118 953 |
| 16 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | Japan | Motor Vehicles | 116 612 | 164 734 |
| 17 | Siemens AG | Germany | Industrial and Commercial Machinery | 115 251 | 140 309 |
| 18 | Enel SpA | Italy | Electricity, gas and water | 111 240 | 164 010 |
| 19 | CK Hutchison Holdings Limited | Hong Kong, China | Retail Trade | 110 515 | 130 677 |
| 20 | Mitsubishi Corporation | Japan | Wholesale Trade | 107 860 | 140 879 |
| 21 | Glencore Xstrata PLC | Switzerland | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 107 077 | 124 600 |
| 22 | Telefonica SA | Spain | Telecommunications | 106 765 | 130 327 |
| 23 | Eni SpA | Italy | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 106 408 | 131 280 |
| 24 | Nestlé SA | Switzerland | Food & beverages | 106 319 | 129 467 |
| 25 | BMW AG | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 106 244 | 198 730 |
| 26 | Johnson & Johnson | United States | Pharmaceuticals | 104 274 | 141 208 |
| 27 | Deutsche Telekom AG | Germany | Telecommunications | 102 176 | 156 514 |
| 28 | Iberdrola SA | Spain | Electricity, gas and water | 100 890 | 112 476 |
| 29 | Allergan PLC | Ireland | Pharmaceuticals | 94 512 | 128 986 |
| 30 | Rio Tinto PLC | United Kingdom | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 89 177 | 89 263 |
| 31 | Fiat Chrysler Automobiles | United Kingdom | Motor Vehicles | 86 599 | 109 985 |
| 32 | Pfizer Inc | United States | Pharmaceuticals | 85 930 | 171 615 |
| 33 | EDF SA | France | Electricity, gas and water | 84 508 | 296 869 |
| 34 | Microsoft Corporation | United States | Computer and Data Processing | 82 992 | 193 468 |
| 35 | Mitsui & Co Ltd | Japan | Wholesale Trade | 82 233 | 102 850 |
| 36 | Altice NV | Netherlands | Telecommunications | 81 640 | 84 761 |
| 37 | Engie | France | Electricity, gas and water | 77 809 | 167 070 |
| 38 | ArcelorMittal | Luxembourg | Metals and metal products | 75 142 | 75 142 |
| 39 | Sanofi | France | Pharmaceuticals | 72 747 | 110 332 |
| 40 | Hon Hai Precision Industries | Taiwan Province of China | Electronic components | 70 797 | 79 991 |
| 41 | The Coca-Cola Company | United States | Food & beverages | 70 595 | 87 270 |
| 42 | Ford Motor Company | United States | Motor Vehicles | 70 153 | 237 951 |
| 43 | Novartis AG | Switzerland | Pharmaceuticals | 67 487 | 130 124 |
| 44 | China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) e | China | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 66 673 | 179 228 |
| 45 | Shire plc | Ireland | Pharmaceuticals | 66 615 | 67 035 |
| 46 | Airbus Group NV | France | Aircraft | 66 490 | 117 142 |
| 47 | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited | Israel | Pharmaceuticals | 66 161 | 92 890 |
| 48 | Roche Group | Switzerland | Pharmaceuticals | 64 754 | 75 401 |
| 49 | International Business Machines Corporation | United States | Computer and Data Processing | 63 897 | 117 470 |
| 50 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Korea, Republic of | Communications equipment | 63 704 | 217 714 |
| 51 | Procter & Gamble Co | United States | Chemicals and Allied Products | 62 718 | 127 136 |
| 52 | Orange SA | France | Telecommunications | 62 623 | 99 787 |
| 53 | Amazon.com, Inc | United States | E-Commerce | 61 177 | 83 402 |
| 54 | Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation | Japan | Telecommunications | 60 466 | 190 035 |
| 55 | Statoil ASA | Norway | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 58 995 | 104 530 |
| 56 | GlaxoSmithKline PLC | United Kingdom | Pharmaceuticals | 58 514 | 72 742 |
| 57 | BASF SE | Germany | Chemicals and Allied Products | 58 370 | 80 632 |
| 58 | Lafargeholcim Ltd | Switzerland | Stone, Clay, Glass, and Concrete Products | 54 886 | 73 381 |
| 59 | Wal-Mart Stores Inc | United States | Retail Trade | 54 734 | 198 825 |
| 60 | Liberty Global plc | United Kingdom | Telecommunications | 54 358 | 54 518 |
| 61 | General Motors Co | United States | Motor Vehicles | 53 687 | 221 690 |
| 62 | ConocoPhillips | United States | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 52 461 | 89772 |
| 63 | Unilever PLC | United Kingdom | Food & beverages | 52 356 | 59 480 |
| 64 | Robert Bosch GmbH | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 51 200 | 86 302 |
| 65 | Mondelez International, Inc. | United States | Food & beverages | 50 917 | 61 538 |
| 66 | John Swire & Sons Limited e | United Kingdom | Transport and storage | 50 491 | 50 562 |
| 67 | AstraZeneca PLC | United Kingdom | Pharmaceuticals | 49 822 | 62 526 |
| 68 | Renault SA | France | Motor Vehicles | 49 381 | 107 624 |
| 69 | Schlumberger Ltd | United States | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 48 561 | 77 956 |
| 70 | Broadcom Limited | Singapore | Electronic components | 48 413 | 49 966 |
| 71 | Anglo American plc | United Kingdom | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 48 216 | 50 149 |
| 72 | Petronas - Petroliam Nasional Bhd e | Malaysia | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 47 912 | 139 868 |
| 73 | Marubeni Corporation | Japan | Wholesale Trade | 47 511 | 61 675 |
| 74 | Repsol YPF SA | Spain | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 46 745 | 68 356 |
| 75 | National Grid PLC | United Kingdom | Electricity, gas and water | 45 727 | 82 279 |
| 76 | Christian Dior SA | France | Textiles, clothing and leather | 45 489 | 69 839 |
| 77 | Bayer AG | Germany | Pharmaceuticals | 45 422 | 86 685 |
| 78 | Nokia OYJ | Finland | Communications equipment | 44 674 | 47 329 |
| 79 | Air Liquide SA | France | Chemicals and Allied Products | 44 155 | 46 503 |
| 80 | British American Tobacco PLC | United Kingdom | Tobacco | 44 007 | 48 969 |
| 81 | China COSCO Shipping Corp Ltd e | China | Transport and storage | 43 076 | 55 642 |
| 82 | SAP SE | Germany | Computer and Data Processing | 42 635 | 46 671 |
| 83 | United Technologies Corporation | United States | Aircraft | 42 473 | 89 706 |
| 84 | Sumitomo Corporation | Japan | Wholesale Trade | 42 258 | 69 411 |
| 85 | Imperial Brands PLC | United Kingdom | Tobacco | 42 245 | 42 423 |
| 86 | Danone Groupe SA | France | Food & beverages | 41 855 | 46 325 |
| 87 | RWE AG | Germany | Electricity, gas and water | 41 791 | 80 533 |
| 88 | Amgen Inc | United States | Pharmaceuticals | 41 199 | 77 626 |
| 89 | Schneider Electric SA | France | Electricity, gas and water | 41 093 | 44 114 |
| 90 | Hewlett-Packard Co | United States | Computer and Data Processing | 40 228 | 79 629 |
| 91 | Alphabet Inc | United States | Computer and Data Processing | 39 672 | 167 497 |
| 92 | Intel Corporation | United States | Electronic components | 39 392 | 113 327 |
| 93 | Volvo AB | Sweden | Motor Vehicles | 37 948 | 44 020 |
| 94 | WPP PLC | United Kingdom | Business Services | 37 765 | 42 561 |
| 95 | ITOCHU Corporation | Japan | Wholesale Trade | 37 697 | 72 633 |
| 96 | E.ON AG | Germany | Electricity, gas and water | 37 681 | 67 143 |
| 97 | Sony Corporation | Japan | Electric equipment | 37 650 | 157 933 |
| 98 | AP Moller - Maersk A/S | Denmark | Transport and storage | 37 610 | 61 118 |
| 99 | Vale SA | Brazil | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 37 413 | 99 157 |
| 100 | América Móvil SAB de CV | Mexico | Telecommunications | 37 158 | 73 352 |
Source: World Investment Report 2017, UNCTAD
Two observations:
- Most of the 100 companies are from the developed world as these firms hold leadership positions in their respective industries and have substantial operations around the world.
- A few emerging markets firms such as Vale(VALE), America Movil(AMX), CNOOC (CEO) from China have made it to this list.
Download: The World’s Top 100 Non-Financial MNEs by Foreign Assets 2016 (in Excel)
Disclosure: No Positions
