The World’s Top 100 Non-Financial Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs) based on Foreign Assets in 2019 are listed in the table below:
| Rank based on Foreign assets | Corporation | Home economy | Industry | Foreign Assets ( in million $s) | Total Assets ( in million $s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Royal Dutch Shell plc | United Kingdom | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 376 417 | 402 681 |
| 2 | Toyota Motor Corporation | Japan | Motor Vehicles | 307 538 | 485 422 |
| 3 | BP plc | United Kingdom | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 259 860 | 295 194 |
| 4 | Softbank Group Corp | Japan | Telecommunications | 253 163 | 343 306 |
| 5 | Total SA | France | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 249 678 | 273 865 |
| 6 | Volkswagen Group | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 243 469 | 548 271 |
| 7 | Anheuser-Busch InBev NV | Belgium | Food & beverages | 192 138 | 237 142 |
| 8 | British American Tobacco PLC | United Kingdom | Tobacco | 184 959 | 186 194 |
| 9 | Daimler AG | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 179 506 | 339 742 |
| 10 | Chevron Corporation | United States | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 172 830 | 237 428 |
| 11 | Exxon Mobil Corporation | United States | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 169 719 | 362 597 |
| 12 | Vodafone Group Plc | United Kingdom | Telecommunications | 168 394 | 184 253 |
| 13 | EDF SA | France | Electricity, gas and water | 155 021 | 340 692 |
| 14 | CK Hutchison Holdings Limited | Hong Kong, China | Retail Trade | 143 367 | 155 523 |
| 15 | Honda Motor Co Ltd | Japan | Motor Vehicles | 143 180 | 188 541 |
| 16 | Enel SpA | Italy | Electricity, gas and water | 135 691 | 192 570 |
| 17 | Siemens AG | Germany | Industrial and Commercial Machinery | 134 634 | 163 598 |
| 18 | China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) | China | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 133 636 | 595 935 |
| 19 | Deutsche Telekom AG | Germany | Telecommunications | 132 443 | 191 723 |
| 20 | BMW AG | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 126 609 | 256 160 |
| 21 | Microsoft Corporation | United States | Computer and Data Processing | 117 460 | 286 556 |
| 22 | Johnson & Johnson | United States | Pharmaceuticals | 116 200 | 157 728 |
| 23 | Apple Computer Inc | United States | Computer Equipment | 114 719 | 338 516 |
| 24 | Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited | Japan | Pharmaceuticals | 113 414 | 118 140 |
| 25 | General Electric Co | United States | Industrial and Commercial Machinery | 112 676 | 266 048 |
| 26 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | Japan | Motor Vehicles | 111 795 | 156 431 |
| 27 | Eni SpA | Italy | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 109 441 | 138 665 |
| 28 | Nestlé SA | Switzerland | Food & beverages | 105 661 | 132 416 |
| 29 | Glencore PLC | Switzerland | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 105 588 | 123 568 |
| 30 | Telefonica SA | Spain | Telecommunications | 105 378 | 133 540 |
| 31 | Iberdrola SA | Spain | Electricity, gas and water | 102 889 | 137 462 |
| 32 | Bayer AG | Germany | Pharmaceuticals | 100 947 | 141 831 |
| 33 | Hon Hai Precision Industries | Taiwan Province of China | Electronic components | 96 897 | 110 865 |
| 34 | Tencent Holdings Limited | China | Computer and Data Processing | 95 453 | 137 037 |
| 35 | GlaxoSmithKline PLC | United Kingdom | Pharmaceuticals | 93 156 | 105 232 |
| 36 | Sinopec - China Petrochemical Corporation | China | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 90 492 | 328 607 |
| 37 | Engie | France | Electricity, gas and water | 89 247 | 179 502 |
| 38 | Fiat Chrysler Automobiles | United Kingdom | Motor Vehicles | 88 262 | 110 137 |
| 39 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Korea, Republic of | Communications equipment | 87 435 | 305 544 |
| 40 | Rio Tinto PLC | United Kingdom | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 87 231 | 87 443 |
| 41 | Medtronic plc | Ireland | Instruments and related products | 86 701 | 89 694 |
| 42 | Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation | Japan | Telecommunications | 85 984 | 212 063 |
| 43 | ArcelorMittal | Luxembourg | Metals and metal products | 85 125 | 88 092 |
| 44 | IBM Corp | United States | Computer and Data Processing | 82 388 | 152 186 |
| 45 | Linde PLC | United Kingdom | Chemicals and Allied Products | 82 205 | 86 612 |
| 46 | China COSCO Shipping Corp Ltd | China | Transport and storage | 81 190 | 315 020 |
| 47 | Roche Group | Switzerland | Pharmaceuticals | 78 846 | 85 998 |
| 48 | Orange SA | France | Telecommunications | 76 795 | 119 415 |
| 49 | Pfizer Inc | United States | Pharmaceuticals | 76 273 | 167 489 |
| 50 | Mitsubishi Corporation | Japan | Wholesale Petroleum and Fuels | 76 196 | 166 318 |
| 51 | Ford Motor Company | United States | Motor Vehicles | 75 811 | 258 537 |
| 52 | Walmart inc | United States | Retail Trade | 74 653 | 236 495 |
| 53 | Mitsui & Co Ltd | Japan | Wholesale Metals and Minerals | 73 653 | 108 789 |
| 54 | Airbus SE | France | Aircraft | 69 722 | 128 521 |
| 55 | China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC) | China | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 69 517 | 176 882 |
| 56 | Christian Dior SA | France | Textiles, clothing and leather | 68 261 | 105 403 |
| 57 | Novartis AG | Switzerland | Pharmaceuticals | 68 049 | 118 370 |
| 58 | Huawei Technologies Co, Ltd | China | Communications equipment | 67 839 | 123 344 |
| 59 | Amazon.com, Inc | United States | E-Commerce | 67 166 | 225 248 |
| 60 | Sanofi | France | Pharmaceuticals | 65 149 | 126 641 |
| 61 | Unilever PLC | United Kingdom | Food & beverages | 64 569 | 72 350 |
| 62 | Enbridge Inc | Canada | Electricity, gas and water | 63 989 | 125650 |
| 63 | SAP SE | Germany | Computer and Data Processing | 63 969 | 67 642 |
| 64 | Alphabet Inc | United States | Computer and Data Processing | 63 589 | 275 909 |
| 65 | Procter & Gamble Co | United States | Chemicals and Allied Products | 61 060 | 115 095 |
| 66 | Robert Bosch GmbH | Germany | Motor Vehicles | 60 199 | 100 011 |
| 67 | Fresenius SE & Co KGaA | Germany | Health care services | 60 188 | 75 271 |
| 68 | Equinor ASA | Norway | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 60 131 | 118 037 |
| 69 | Atlantia SpA | Italy | Construction | 59 548 | 91 685 |
| 70 | BASF SE | Germany | Chemicals and Allied Products | 59 018 | 97 675 |
| 71 | Lafargeholcim Ltd | Switzerland | Building materials | 58 616 | 60 376 |
| 72 | Renault SA | France | Motor Vehicles | 57 983 | 137 240 |
| 73 | Sinochem Group | China | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 57 275 | 71 200 |
| 74 | China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) | China | Chemicals and Allied Products | 54 090 | 117 011 |
| 75 | The Coca-Cola Company | United States | Food & beverages | 54 006 | 86 381 |
| 76 | Anglo American plc | United Kingdom | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 53 703 | 55 922 |
| 77 | Raytheon Technologies Corp | United States | Aircraft | 53 551 | 139 716 |
| 78 | Mondelez International, Inc. | United States | Food & beverages | 53 093 | 64 549 |
| 79 | RWE AG | Germany | Electricity, gas and water | 51 725 | 72 110 |
| 80 | Sony Corporation | Japan | Consumer electronics | 50 915 | 212 295 |
| 81 | Saudi Aramco | Saudi Arabia | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 50 558 | 398 434 |
| 82 | Intel Corporation | United States | Electronic components | 49 605 | 136 524 |
| 83 | Unibail-Rodamco SE | France | Real Estate | 49 099 | 73 021 |
| 84 | National Grid PLC | United Kingdom | Electricity, gas and water | 49 087 | 82 918 |
| 85 | John Swire & Sons Limited | United Kingdom | Transport and storage | 48 751 | 51 317 |
| 86 | Altice Europe NV | Netherlands | Telecommunications | 48 255 | 53 000 |
| 87 | Peugeot SA (PSA Peugeot Citroen) | France | Motor Vehicles | 47 869 | 78 371 |
| 88 | Comcast Corp | United States | Telecommunications | 47 137 | 263 414 |
| 89 | Danone Groupe SA | France | Food & beverages | 47 099 | 50 957 |
| 90 | Schneider Electric SA | France | Electricity, gas and water | 47 058 | 50 554 |
| 91 | Vinci SA | France | Construction | 46 754 | 102 339 |
| 92 | TC Energy Corp | Canada | Electricity, gas and water | 46 428 | 76 404 |
| 93 | Legend Holdings Corporation | China | Computer Equipment | 46 331 | 89 647 |
| 94 | Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA | France | Building materials | 46 204 | 56 148 |
| 95 | AstraZeneca PLC | United Kingdom | Pharmaceuticals | 45 886 | 61 126 |
| 96 | Air Liquide SA | France | Chemicals and Allied Products | 45 416 | 49 052 |
| 97 | Petronas - Petroliam Nasional Bhd | Malaysia | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 45 031 | 153 978 |
| 98 | General Motors Co | United States | Motor Vehicles | 45 008 | 228 037 |
| 99 | Repsol YPF SA | Spain | Petroleum Refining and Related Industries | 44 936 | 65 036 |
| 100 | Barrick Gold Corporation | Canada | Mining, quarrying and petroleum | 43 803 | 44 392 |
Source: World Investment Report 2020, UNCTAD
A few observations:
- Among the top five firms are oil majors Royal Dutch Shell(RDS-A), Total(TOT) and BP(BP).
- Japan-based multinational conglomerate Softbank Group took the fourth spot.
- China has the largest representation from emerging markets with a total of 9 firms.
- Overall the list is dominated by companies from the US, developed Europe and Japan.
Disclosure: No Positions
