UNCTAD recently released its annual The World Investment Report for 2019. The report contains many fascinating facts about global investments such as fund flows, foreign direct investment in countries, top global companies, etc.
The World’s Top 100 Multi-National Enterprises based on Foreign Assets in 2018 list is interesting to investors especially to those that are looking to diversify globally. The following table shows the latest list based on 2018 data:
Rank | Corporation | Home economy | Industry | Foreign Assets (in millions of $) | Total Assets (in millions of $) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Royal Dutch Shell plc | United Kingdom | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 343 713 | 400 563 |
2 | Toyota Motor Corporation | Japan | Motor Vehicles | 300 384 | 468 872 |
3 | BP plc | United Kingdom | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 254 533 | 283 144 |
4 | Softbank Group Corp | Japan | Telecommunications | 240 305 | 325 869 |
5 | Total SA | France | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 233 692 | 256 327 |
6 | Volkswagen Group | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 224 191 | 524 566 |
7 | British American Tobacco PLC | United Kingdom | Tobacco | 185 974 | 187 330 |
8 | Chevron Corporation | United States | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 181 006 | 253 863 |
9 | Daimler AG | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 169 115 | 322 440 |
10 | Exxon Mobil Corporation | United States | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 168 053 | 346 196 |
11 | Anheuser-Busch InBev NV | Belgium | Food & beverages | 162 270 | 202 375 |
12 | Apple Computer Inc | United States | Computer Equipment | 153 545 | 365 725 |
13 | CK Hutchison Holdings Limited | Hong Kong, China | Retail Trade | 144 891 | 157 337 |
14 | Honda Motor Co Ltd | Japan | Motor Vehicles | 143 280 | 184 338 |
15 | Vodafone Group Plc | United Kingdom | Telecommunications | 143 259 | 160 501 |
16 | General Electric Co | United States | Industrial and Commercial Machinery | 134 637 | 309 129 |
17 | Siemens AG | Germany | Industrial and Commercial Machinery | 133 891 | 160 800 |
18 | Enel SpA | Italy | Electricity, gas and water | 133 459 | 189 402 |
19 | DowDuPont Inc | United States | Rubber and Miscellaneous Plastic Products | 122 998 | 188 030 |
20 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | Japan | Motor Vehicles | 122 276 | 171 097 |
21 | Iberdrola SA | Spain | Electricity, gas and water | 121 510 | 148 434 |
22 | Nestlé SA | Switzerland | Food & beverages | 120 407 | 139 215 |
23 | BMW AG | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 118 908 | 239 272 |
24 | Bayer AG | Germany | Pharmaceuticals | 117 977 | 144 590 |
25 | Johnson & Johnson | United States | Pharmaceuticals | 115 837 | 152 954 |
26 | Amazon.com, Inc | United States | E-Commerce | 115 397 | 162 648 |
27 | Microsoft Corporation | United States | Computer and Data Processing | 114 648 | 258 848 |
28 | Deutsche Telekom AG | Germany | Telecommunications | 112 360 | 166 447 |
29 | Glencore PLC | Switzerland | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 111 197 | 129 113 |
30 | EDF SA | France | Electricity, gas and water | 107 145 | 324 215 |
31 | Hon Hai Precision Industries | Taiwan Province of China | Electronic components | 106 644 | 110 609 |
32 | Eni SpA | Italy | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 106 042 | 135 625 |
33 | Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited | Japan | Pharmaceuticals | 105 448 | 125 235 |
34 | Telefonica SA | Spain | Telecommunications | 100 094 | 130 578 |
35 | Rio Tinto PLC | United Kingdom | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 91 178 | 91 261 |
36 | Medtronic plc | Ireland | Instruments and related products | 88 435 | 91 393 |
37 | Fiat Chrysler Automobiles | United Kingdom | Motor Vehicles | 87 365 | 110 915 |
38 | Mitsui & Co Ltd | Japan | Wholesale Metals and Minerals | 87 357 | 107 843 |
39 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Korea, Republic of | Communications equipment | 84 717 | 304 057 |
40 | China COSCO Shipping Corp Ltd | China | Transport and storage | 84 419 | 109 044 |
41 | Novartis AG | Switzerland | Pharmaceuticals | 83 259 | 145 563 |
42 | Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation | Japan | Telecommunications | 82 633 | 201 274 |
43 | Ford Motor Company | United States | Motor Vehicles | 79 979 | 256 540 |
44 | ArcelorMittal | Luxembourg | Metals and metal products | 77 897 | 79 562 |
45 | Tencent Holdings Limited | China | Computer and Data Processing | 77 594 | 119 824 |
46 | Linde PLC | United Kingdom | Chemicals and Allied Products | 75 863 | 93 386 |
47 | Pfizer Inc | United States | Pharmaceuticals | 74 988 | 159 422 |
48 | Allergan PLC | Ireland | Pharmaceuticals | 74 583 | 101 788 |
49 | BASF SE | Germany | Chemicals and Allied Products | 71 922 | 99 102 |
50 | Airbus SE | France | Aircraft | 71 735 | 131 896 |
51 | Engie | France | Electricity, gas and water | 71 437 | 175 981 |
52 | Orange SA | France | Telecommunications | 69 489 | 110 593 |
53 | Roche Group | Switzerland | Pharmaceuticals | 68 941 | 79 777 |
54 | International Business Machines Corporation | United States | Computer and Data Processing | 68 772 | 123 382 |
55 | Mitsubishi Corporation | Japan | Wholesale Petroleum and Fuels | 68 378 | 149 254 |
56 | China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) | China | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 67 282 | 173 408 |
57 | John Swire & Sons Limited | United Kingdom | Transport and storage | 65 930 | 69 400 |
58 | Enbridge Inc | Canada | Electricity, gas and water | 64 540 | 122 463 |
59 | Equinor ASA | Norway | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 61 606 | 111 863 |
60 | Unilever PLC | United Kingdom | Food & beverages | 61 545 | 68 424 |
61 | GlaxoSmithKline PLC | United Kingdom | Pharmaceuticals | 61 120 | 74 329 |
62 | State Grid Corporation of China | China | Electricity, gas and water | 60 000 | 585299 |
63 | Walmart inc | United States | Retail Trade | 59 553 | 219 295 |
64 | Lafargeholcim Ltd | Switzerland | Stone, Clay, Glass, and Concrete Products | 59 202 | 60 723 |
65 | Christian Dior SA | France | Textiles, clothing and leather | 57 744 | 88 471 |
66 | United Technologies Corporation | United States | Aircraft | 56 601 | 134 211 |
67 | China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) | China | Chemicals and Allied Products | 56 241 | 121 444 |
68 | Intel Corporation | United States | Electronic components | 56 080 | 127 963 |
69 | Renault SA | France | Motor Vehicles | 55 240 | 131 665 |
70 | Robert Bosch GmbH | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 55 161 | 95 780 |
71 | SAP SE | Germany | Computer and Data Processing | 55 128 | 58 955 |
72 | Procter & Gamble Co | United States | Chemicals and Allied Products | 54 905 | 118 310 |
73 | RWE AG | Germany | Electricity, gas and water | 54 773 | 91 720 |
74 | Atlantia SpA | Italy | Construction | 54 605 | 91 223 |
75 | Alphabet Inc | United States | Computer and Data Processing | 53 296 | 232 792 |
76 | Mondelez International, Inc. | United States | Food & beverages | 52 429 | 62 729 |
77 | Anglo American plc | United Kingdom | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 50 512 | 52 375 |
78 | Altice Europe NV | Netherlands | Telecommunications | 50 010 | 51 902 |
79 | Fresenius SE & Co KGaA | Germany | Health care services | 50 002 | 64 922 |
80 | Sanofi | France | Pharmaceuticals | 49 960 | 127 557 |
81 | Unibail-Rodamco SE | France | Real Estate | 48 761 | 73 880 |
82 | Marubeni Corporation | Japan | Wholesale Durable Goods | 48 367 | 61 470 |
83 | Repsol YPF SA | Spain | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 48 081 | 69 588 |
84 | AstraZeneca PLC | United Kingdom | Pharmaceuticals | 47 240 | 60 859 |
85 | Transcanada Corp | Canada | Electricity, gas and water | 47 232 | 72 581 |
86 | Danone Groupe SA | France | Food & beverages | 46 960 | 50 580 |
87 | BHP Billiton Group Ltd | Australia | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 46 088 | 111 728 |
88 | Johnson Controls International PLC | Ireland | Electric equipment | 45 302 | 48 797 |
89 | Sony Corporation | Japan | Consumer electronics | 45 051 | 189 416 |
90 | Schneider Electric SA | France | Electricity, gas and water | 44 894 | 48 384 |
91 | Reckitt Benckiser Plc | United Kingdom | Chemicals and Allied Products | 44 868 | 48 195 |
92 | Oracle Corporation | United States | Computer and Data Processing | 44 576 | 137 851 |
93 | Air Liquide SA | France | Chemicals and Allied Products | 44 270 | 48 066 |
94 | National Grid PLC | United Kingdom | Electricity, gas and water | 46 985 | 82 412 |
95 | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited | Israel | Pharmaceuticals | 43 444 | 60 683 |
96 | General Motors Co | United States | Motor Vehicles | 43 267 | 227 339 |
97 | Trafigura Group Pte Ltd | Switzerland | Wholesale Metals and Minerals | 43 056 | 53 801 |
98 | China Minmetals Corp (CMC) | China | Metals and metal products | 42 790 | 131 338 |
99 | Tata Motors Ltd | India | Motor Vehicles | 42 146 | 50 844 |
100 | Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA | France | Stone, Clay, Glass, and Concrete Products | 41 234 | 50 426 |
Source: The World Investment Report 2019 , UNCTAD
Royal Dutch Shell(RDA-B) is the world’s top firm followed by Toyota of Japan(TM). As usual this list is dominated by Western firms. Some of the emerging market giants listed include Tata Motors(TTM) of India, CNOOC(CEO) and Sinopac(SNP) of China.
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Also see: The World’s Top 100 Non-Financial MNEs based on Foreign Assets 2017
Disclosure: No Positions