Forbes Top 500 Companies In The Arab World
GCC companies dominated Forbes' list of top 500 companies in the Arab world, with Saudi Arabia's SABIC in the lead with USD 50 billion in revenues and Saudi Telecom coming in second place. A total of 11 countries are represented in the list with combined revenues of USD 383.67 billion and net profits at USD 71.68 billion as of the end of December 2013, Forbes MENA said. "These figures equate to year-on-year increases of 12% and 16.2%, respectively, while aggregated total assets grew 19% to reach a sizable USD 2.64 trillion," it said in a press release issued on Thursday. Featuring only publicly-listed companies, the Top 500 Companies in the Arab World was based on disclosed financial statements for 2013, collated from stock markets across the region. Criteria considered when producing the list include total revenue, net profits, total assets, and market capitalization. The top 10 included four entries from Saudi Arabia, three from the UAE, two from Qatar and one from Kuwait. "In terms of number of entries, Saudi Arabia dominates not just the top 10, but the overall ranking. As the biggest economy in the region, the Kingdom occupies more than one-fifth of the list, with each of its 108 entries listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange, Tadawul," Forbes said. "The combined market value of the one hundred-plus companies stands at USD 746.33 billion, with USD 746.33 billion in assets and revenues of USD 162.06 billion." Kuwait features with the second highest number of entries this year with the National Bank of Kuwait, which is ranked 10th overall, leading the way. For their part, 74 UAE companies enter the list, with Etisalat, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank finishing in the top 10. Egypt lands in fourth place where volume of entries is concerned, followed by Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Lebanon and Iraq, respectively. This year the industrials' sector witnessed the highest number of entries with 24.2% of the total lineup, followed by the banking sector with 20.2%. "Attesting to the region's economic recovery, real estate companies fared well too, accounting for 10.4% of entries with the UAE developer, Emaar Properties, ranked top in the category," Forbes said.