Interpreting the 2010 Fortune Global 500 List

I have been following the annual Fortune Global 500 list since 2003. Back then, I would look at each name on the list every day during class, feeling both excited and curious.

As time passes, some companies disappear from the list each year, while new ones emerge. Of course, there are also those that remain firmly entrenched, dominating the global market for years.

Analysis of Chinese Companies

Looking at the 2010 list, it seems that the number of Chinese companies has significantly increased. In fact, according to the Financial Times’ market capitalization-based Global 500 list, Sinopec, a company with a questionable reputation, topped the list. I remember back in 2003, there were only about 10 Chinese companies on the list, and even with the inclusion of companies from Hong Kong and Taiwan, the total didn’t reach 20. At that time, the U.S. accounted for 40% of the list, Japan had around 70-80 companies, and Germany, the UK, and France each had about 40 companies. These five countries alone made up 80% of the Global 500. What was particularly frustrating was that China was even behind smaller countries like the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, and South Korea.

In 2010, 54 Chinese companies made the list, including 8 from Taiwan and 4 from Hong Kong. A simple comparison shows that Taiwan, with an area of just over 20,000 square kilometers, has an international economic strength equivalent to about one-fifth of mainland China (8/42). Meanwhile, Hong Kong, with an area of just over 1,000 square kilometers, is equivalent to about one-tenth of mainland China.

Guangdong’s GDP has recently surpassed that of Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, and it is said to be on track to overtake South Korea soon. However, this trend is not reflected in the list, highlighting the immense power of centralization.

In this year’s Global 500 list, China still has only one private enterprise on the list, just like last year. Last year, it was Lenovo (499th), and this year, it’s Shagang Group. Shagang’s inclusion is not surprising, as I’ve seen its name around for years. However, it’s worth noting that steel companies occupy many spots on the Global 500 list. From what I recall, Japan’s steel industry has always been strong. Despite the country’s lack of iron resources, its leaders in the 1960s and 1970s had the foresight to encourage Japanese companies to expand overseas. Companies like Mitsui and Nippon Steel secured mining rights in Australia, South America, Africa, and other regions. Today, Japanese steel companies are in a virtuous cycle, and in recent years, they have effectively controlled iron ore prices. Speaking of Nippon Steel, it’s worth mentioning that its predecessor, Yawata Steel Works, was built with the silver China paid as reparations after the First Sino-Japanese War. It was also Japan’s largest military steel provider during World War II. The day before yesterday was the anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance, but it’s ironic that many companies on the Global 500 list were once military factories during WWII, such as Mitsui, Nippon Steel, and ThyssenKrupp (Germany’s largest military factory, now known for outdoor elevators in many cities, with a logo resembling a skull and three overlapping circles).

As for the state-owned enterprises, there’s not much to say—they are all behemoths.

Technology Sector:

GE continues to lead the electronics sector without any surprises. Unlike GM, which has had a tough few years, GE has remained strong. In fact, Obama even resorted to underhanded tactics to tarnish Toyota’s reputation with the “sticky pedal” incident, lowering Toyota’s public standing to give GM and Ford, traditional American car manufacturers, a chance to survive. Toyota, however, continues to hold the top spot in the automotive sector of the Global 500. Is this irony?

A few days ago, I saw a WWII-era GE fan on Taobao priced at over 4,000 yuan, and it was still functional…

In 2010, HP remained within the top 30 globally. HP’s product line is incredibly broad, yet it has managed to maintain high sales growth year after year, which is no small feat. In 2010, its revenue reached $110 billion. Siemens, which used to rank much higher, has seen its ranking decline since it stopped making mobile phones, but it still remains within the top 40. As for IBM, which has long been a top contender in the Global 500?

It took me a while to find it—it’s now at 58th place. In recent years, IBM has been ambitiously pursuing the development of the “Smarter Planet” Internet of Things, but it seems to have encountered resistance from national security concerns in many countries, leading to less-than-ideal outcomes. It seems even the “Big Blue” has its troubles.

The heartbreaking Google—I’m not sure when it entered the Global 500, but it’s now at 355th place. The future of the global internet depends on it. At least Microsoft sells game consoles, mice, keyboards, and Zune players, but I’ve never seen Google sell anything…

Japanese companies like Sony, Fujitsu, Panasonic, Hitachi, Toshiba, NEC, and Sharp are still standing strong, all hovering around their usual positions, though they seem to have moved slightly higher overall. Panasonic, the perennial runner-up, is now in the 60s globally, alongside Sony.

In the computer sector, as mentioned earlier, HP is in first place, Dell is at 131st, Apple at 197th, Toshiba at 89th, Asus at 465th, Acer at 487th, and Lenovo is out… These days, no one just sells computers anymore. Lenovo must be feeling the pressure. A few years ago, it tried to follow Apple’s lead by focusing solely on computers and abandoning its mobile phone business. But then Apple’s iPhone took off, and Lenovo, regretting its decision, brought back its mobile phone business to try and replicate Apple’s success with the LePhone… Japanese computer brands are doing well in terms of sales. Toshiba ranks in the top four in the U.S. in terms of shipments, while Asus and Acer perform well in the traditional European market and continue to thrive in the OEM sector. However, the issues with Foxconn might have some impact on them.

In the mobile phone sector, Nokia, which I’ve never used, is at 120th place, which is fitting for its position as the market leader. Motorola has fallen to nearly 400th place, and it’s unclear whether its recent collaboration with Google can reverse its decline. Most other mobile phone manufacturers in the Global 500 are diversified companies, such as LG (67th) and the aforementioned Japanese companies. The only pure mobile phone manufacturers are Nokia and Motorola. Additionally, RIM hasn’t yet made it onto the Global 500 list. Last year, RIM’s sales were $15 billion, and with a conservative annual growth rate of 30%, it would take at least three more years to make the list—assuming nothing changes in those three years. The BlackPad is said to be coming out soon, but BlackBerry might face a sales bottleneck in the near future, similar to what Motorola experienced. Apple’s sales in China in 2009 were $1.4 billion, and its prospects remain bright.

If you were to ask which company name appears most frequently in the Global 500, it would undoubtedly be MITSUBISHI. Mitsubishi still has five companies on the list: Mitsubishi Financial, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Mitsubishi Chemical. This unique global giant spans various fields, including machinery, chemicals, metallurgy, finance, electronics, automotive, and shipbuilding. Samsung is following in its footsteps, but there’s still a significant gap. Samsung, an enigmatic company, has quickly become another global giant. In the Global 500, Samsung has three companies that have been on the list for some time: Samsung Electronics, Samsung Financial, and Samsung Insurance. This is a point of pride for South Korea, as it has managed to emulate Japan’s success in its own way.

I used to be very interested in the English names of Japanese companies like MITSUI and Nippon, but now it’s hard to find Mitsui on the list—it’s much harder to locate than the others. Once a top 10 global company, it has now fallen to 164th place. This further illustrates the adage: “If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind.” However, it seems that Mitsui’s current situation is due to some form of restructuring or split.

In fact, there’s another company name that appears five times in the Global 500, and it’s also Japanese: Sumitomo. My knowledge of it is limited to its name and a few articles. Companies like Mitsui, Sumitomo, Marubeni, and Itochu are often mentioned in passing, but they are usually behind-the-scenes players in various fields. Just as most people know that Ma Huateng founded Tencent, few are aware that Tencent’s largest backer is the South African company Naspers, which, through a small investment in Tencent years ago, now holds over a third of its shares. In the past few years, Naspers has reaped over 80 billion yuan in profits from Tencent. Companies like Sumitomo and Mitsubishi are more like families than businesses. Almost every Japanese person, from birth to death, will have some connection to these companies, as they are involved in everything from food and daily necessities to healthcare, education, entertainment, and insurance. In this sense, they can be considered state-owned enterprises (many of them were originally state-owned). If Chinese companies could reach the level of these Japanese companies, I believe communism would be achieved.

Sports-Related Companies

Are there any sports-related companies in the Global 500?
Of course, Nike is still around… but it’s pretty much the only one. This company, which once controlled half of the U.S. sports market, has been under immense pressure in recent years.
EON is at 27th place in the Global 500, and I doubt many people know what this company does. However, I have a deep connection with it because I was a fan of Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga back in the day. Ottmar Hitzfeld (now the coach of the Swiss national team, who led the team to defeat Spain in the World Cup group stage) was my idol! I wore Borussia Dortmund’s jersey for years, and it prominently featured the bright orange EON logo…
As for football and basketball stadiums, I won’t bother counting them. The 5th spot is the Houston Rockets’ stadium, the 20th is Bayern Munich’s stadium, and the 21st is the San Antonio Spurs’ home court….

Automotive Sector

The automotive rankings are as follows:

1. Toyota (5th);
2. Volkswagen (16th);
3. Ford (23rd);
4. Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) (30th);
5. General Motors (38th);
6. Honda (51st);
7. Nissan (63rd);
8. Hyundai (78th);
9. BMW (82nd);
10. Fiat (85th);
11. Peugeot (94th);
12. Mitsubishi (146th);
13. Renault (154th);
14. Dongfeng (182nd);
15. SAIC (223rd);
16. FAW (258th);
    I won’t list them all, as there are many unfamiliar names in between, and even Changan Automobile made the list…
    Anyway, here are the others: Changan, Volvo, Suzuki, Mazda, and Tata.

Daily Life-Related Companies

Most companies are related to daily life, but there are some that are less well-known.
Nestlé (44th)—it’s even higher than IBM! It’s not just about selling coffee; it’s involved in all aspects of food production.
Procter & Gamble (66th)—this name should be familiar to many, but I doubt many people can list all its products: Olay, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Rejoice, Vidal Sassoon, Clairol, Safeguard, Gillette, Braun, Always, Crest, Pampers, Ariel, Anna Sui, Hugo Boss, Dunhill, Valentino, Paul Smith…
Unilever (121st)—another familiar name often seen on TV, but it’s hard to distinguish from P&G. Its products include Wall’s, Flora, Knorr, Lipton, Zhonghua toothpaste, Omo, Signal, Lux, Dove, Sunsilk, Clear, Pond’s…
Pfizer (140th)—the inventor of Viagra and the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical manufacturer. Most of the commonly used imported drugs in the U.S. are produced by Pfizer. Other major pharmaceutical companies include Novartis (160th) and GlaxoSmithKline (163rd), especially the latter, as many drugs purchased through Hong Kong are produced by it, given its British origins.

Billionaires’ Companies

The current richest man has two companies in the Global 500, one at 64th place and the other at 269th. It took me a long time in 2006 to remember his full name: Carlos Slim Helú…
The former richest man, now in second place, has Microsoft ranked around 100th—I didn’t bother to check, but it should be correct.

The current third-place billionaire, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is at 28th place. There’s not much to say—I can’t even afford a single share!

Others

21st place is my mobile carrier—AT&T, the U.S. carrier for the iPhone (not that I have an iPhone; mine is a Blackberry ATT custom edition). It remains the top U.S. carrier, much like Nippon Telegraph and Telephone… Nippon Telegraph and Telephone is essentially a copy of AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph), with “Nippon” replacing “American.” AT&T was founded by Bell, the guy who invented the telephone, as mentioned in history books.

29th place is the French company GDF Suez, a name I’m familiar with, though I remember it more for Suez Water. I’m not sure how it became GDF Suez…

Postal services are a rather dull topic in China, but Japan Post is impressively ranked 6th in the Global 500. Meanwhile, traditional postal services like Deutsche Post and the U.S. Postal Service continue to hold their positions. This is worth studying!

The detailed list of the 2010 Fortune Global 500: