India home to 56 of the world''s 2,000 powerful companies: Forbes

New York, May 7

India is home to 56 of the world's 2,000 largest and most powerful public companies, according to the Forbes's annual list, which is topped by the US with its share of 579 companies.

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries leads the pack of 56 Indian companies in the 2015 Forbes 'Global 2000' list.

The list gives a snapshot of the world's largest companies, and shows the dominance of the US and China in the current global business landscape.

The two countries split the top 10 spots for a second year in a row.

Forbes said that for the first time, China's four biggest banks own the top four spots and the South Asian giant is home to 232 of the world's largest companies, adding more spots than any other country in the world and surpassing Japan for the first time.

With 218 companies, Japan slid to the third spot.

India has added two companies to its last year's tally.

Reliance Industries is ranked 142 on the list, down from last year's 135th spot, with a market value of 42.9 billion dollars and 71.7 billion dollars in sales.

Reliance is followed by State Bank of India which is ranked 152 and has a 33 billion dollars market value.

The other Indian companies on the list are Oil and Natural Gas ranked 183, Tata Motors (263), ICICI Bank (283), Indian Oil (349), HDFC Bank (376), NTPC (431), Tata Consultancy Services (485), Bharti Airtel (506), Axis Bank (558), Infosys (672), Bharat Petroleum (757), Wipro (811), Tata Steel (903) and Adani Enterprises (944).

This year's Global 2000 companies hail from 61 countries and account for combined revenues of USD 39 trillion, profits of USD 3 trillion, with assets worth USD 162 trillion, and a market value of USD 48 trillion.

The total market value of Global 2000 companies, owing to a bull market, grew 9 per cent year-over-year, Forbes said.

The United Kingdom kept its fourth place with 95 companies.

Europe overall lost 20 spots to finish with 486 companies this year, falling further behind Asia (691) and North America (645) in continental rankings.

France fell out of the top 5 countries, ceding its spot to South Korea while Argentina and Cyprus made their debut on the list this year.

There are 200 newcomers to this year's list including some household names like travel company Expedia and luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany.

Forbes said the most notable gainers on the list include Facebook, which jumped more than 200 ranks this year thanks to rising revenue and profits.

With 121 spots, construction overtook utilities as the third leading industry this year, in part thanks to the more upbeat global economic outlook, Forbes said. PTI