I Meet The World’s 10 Largest Public Companies

Global 2000

Meet The World’s 10 Largest Public Companies

In May, Forbes released its Global 2000 list for 2021, revealing the world’s largest and most valuable companies.

Compared to 2020’s ranking, the collective market value of the world’s top companies has increased by 47% to $79.8 trillion, with total assets surging by 11% to $223 trillion. However, profits and revenues are suffering, falling by 24% to $2.5 trillion and 6% to $39.8 trillion, respectively.

Here are the world’s largest top 10 public companies. All numbers are as of April 16, 2021. 1. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC)

China • Banking MARKET VALUE: $249.5 billion ICBC engages in the provision of commercial banking and financial services. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

2. JPMorgan Chase

U.S • Diversified Financials MARKET VALUE: $464.8 billion JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a financial holding company. It provides financial and investment banking services. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

3. Berkshire Hathaway

U.S. • Diversified Financials MARKET VALUE: $624.4 billion Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. provides property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, freight rail transportation, finance, manufacturing, retailing, and services. The company was founded by Oliver Chace in 1839 and is headquartered in Omaha, NE. 4. China Construction Bank

China • Banking MARKET VALUE: $210.4 billion China Construction Bank Corp. engages in the provision of financial services to corporate and personal customers. The company was founded in October 1954 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

5. Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco)

Saudi Arabia • Oil & Gas Operations MARKET VALUE: $1.9 trillion Saudi Arabian Oil Co. engages in the exploration, production, transportation, and sale of crude oil and natural gas. The company was founded on May 29, 1933 and is headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

6. Apple

U.S. • Technology Hardware &

Equipment

MARKET VALUE: $2.2 trillion Apple, Inc. engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other variety of related services. The company was founded by Steven Paul Jobs, Ronald Gerald Wayne, and Stephen G. Wozniak on April 1, 1976 and is headquartered in Cupertino, CA.

6. Bank of America

U.S. • Banking MARKET VALUE: $336.3 billion Bank of America Corp. is a bank and financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and nonbank financial services. The company was founded by Amadeo Peter Giannini in 1904 is headquartered in Charlotte, NC.

6. Ping An Insurance Group

China • Insurance MARKET VALUE: $211.2 billion Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. engages in the provision of financial products and services. It operates through the following segments: Insurance, Banking, Trust, Securities, Other Asset Management, Technology, and Others. The company was founded by Ming Zhe Ma on March 21, 1988 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.

9. Agricultural Bank of China

China • Banking MARKET VALUE: $140.1 billion The Agricultural Bank of China engages in the provision of international commercial banking and financial services. The company was founded on July 10, 1951 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.

10. Amazon

U.S. • Retailing MARKET VALUE: $1.7 trillion Amazon.com, Inc. engages in the provision of online retail shopping services. The company was founded by Jeffrey P. Bezos in July 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA.

Country • Industry • Market value

Global Imbalance

Roughly 75% of companies on the Global 2000 are based in just 10 countries. After the U.S. and China, Japan, the U.K., and South Korea are home to the most listmakers.

• United States 588 • China & Hong Kong 324 • Japan 217 • United Kingdom 77 • Canada 61 • South Korea 58

• France 57

• Germany 51 • India 50 • Taiwan 43

Inside The Global 2000

Top Industries

With nearly $108 trillion in combined assets, the banking industry continues to dominate the Global 2000. And as real estate values mount, construction companies took a larger slice of the pie this year.

Banks 14.8% Diversified Financials 7.1% Construction 6.8% Insurance 5.6% Oil & Gas 5.05% Other 60.7%

China Rising

While the U.S. has seen its Global 2000 dominance diminish over the years, China’s company count has risen or stayed constant each year since the list launched in 2003, with a record 350 Chinese firms (including those from Hong Kong) making the 2021 list, up from 324 in 2020. The U.S. added only two new companies, for a total of 590. China’s relatively quick economic recovery from the pandemic, its sizzling IPO market and its growing tech businesses fed its surge.

776

751

711 693 659

598

551 536 536 536 543 563 579 587 565 560 575 588 590

43 49 53 64 89 109 133 162 167 167 182 206 232 249 262 291 309 324 350

Preparing For An Omnichannel Future

With rising consumer interest around new payment technologies, the expectation is now on businesses to adapt to digital life and the changing face of retail. According to the Mastercard New Payments Index, more than three in four UAE consumers (76%) say that they prefer to shop at small businesses that have an online presence as well as in-person service.

The study reveals that the adoption of new payment technologies is growing, and that consumer appetite for new, fast, and flexible digital experiences is on the up. In fact, the study findings show that 97% of UAE consumers will consider using at least one emerging payment method, such as cryptocurrency, biometrics,

The Mastercard New Payment Index reveals a strong appetite for digital payments—a reminder to businesses that it’s time to expand their offerings.

contactless, or QR code, in the next year. This trend coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic. Early in the crisis, stores closed and social distancing took hold, forcing retailers worldwide to move their businesses online, embrace e-commerce, and explore new ways to pay. Commenting on the changing landscape of retail and payments, Girish Nanda, Mastercard’s country manager for the UAE and Pakistan, explains that consumers today expect convenience, and that it is up to businesses - including small enterprises - to respond to the demand by preparing for an omnichannel future. “We foresee that speed and security will play an even more important role in delivering these needs and we expect continued growth of new solutions to provide a seamless payment experience,” says Nanda. “Together with our partners we are working to enable the ease of acceptance of emerging payments that are coming out strong in a post-pandemic world,” he adds.

Responding to consumers According to the Mastercard New Payment Index, 78% of UAE shoppers are more excited to shop at retailers that can offer the latest payment methods, while an equal proportion say they are more likely to be loyal to retailers who offer multiple payment options.

Digital wallets, in particular, have become increasingly popular thanks to the innovation and agility of the UAE banking sector. In fact, 42% of UAE consumers say they currently use a digital wallet and more than six in 10 (66%) say they plan to use one within the next year.

As one way to address this consumer preference for fast, touch-free payment experiences, many merchants are turning to contactless payments. Already, 88% of in-person transactions are now contactless in the UAE, with most merchant categories seeing an increase as a share of total inperson transactions year-over-year in the first quarter of 2021.

This behavior shift is reinforced by the desire for consumer choice, with 83% of study participants saying that they expect to make purchases when they want and how they want. As the demand for emerging payments and choice continues, so too does the need for a wider range of payment solutions, relevant insights, and related products.

Cryptos, QR codes, and biometrics Today consumers can buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency as a commodity or investment. What’s more, they are increasingly showing interest in being able to make everyday purchases using crypto assets. As global attention on digital currencies continues to grow, 50% of people in the UAE say they plan to use cryptocurrency in the next year, with more than half (63%) noting that they are more open to using it than they were a year ago. In light of growing demand, Mastercard announced earlier this year that it would start supporting select cryptocurrencies directly on its network. However, while consumer interest in cryptocurrency—especially floating digital currencies such as Bitcoin—is high, work is still required to ensure consumer choice, protection, and regulatory compliance.

Perceptions of safety and convenience have been front and center for people over the past year, with 55% of UAE consumers saying they plan to use biometric verification methods like gait or walk assessments, or fingerprint authorization. Furthermore, 68% of consumers reportedly feel safer using biometrics to verify a purchase than entering a pin.

Against this backdrop, growing markets are leveraging QR-based options as a clean and convenient way to interact with merchants, while 56% of people in the UAE expect to use more payment technologies like QR codes in the next year. Nearly 70% of consumers find that QR codes are cleaner and more convenient for inperson payments, and that they also have significant potential to reduce the cost of payment acceptance and increase financial inclusion.

Digital payments accelerate across the region Consumers across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are unanimous in their acceptance of digital payments—a reality that has been galvanized by the pandemic. In fact, over two-thirds of respondents (65%) agree that they have now tried a new payment method that they would not have tried under normal circumstances.

Contactless technology was the digital catalyst to explore new payment options because of its fast, secure, and touch-free experience. Between the first quarter of 2020 and the same period in 2021, more than 100 markets saw contactless as a share of total in-person transactions grow by at least 50%.

Now, more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, contactless is showing its staying power and dynamism. In the first quarter of 2021 alone, Mastercard saw one billion more contactless transactions worldwide as compared to the same period of 2020. Looking ahead, all signs point to a continued growth path for contactless, with nearly seven in 10 consumers globally expected to use a contactless card this year.

With this interest and consumer demand also comes a greater expectation on businesses to provide multiple ways to shop and pay. In fact, 61% of MENA consumers say they will avoid businesses that do not accept electronic payments of any kind. Here, the call to action is clear: to ensure their future success and to meet the demands of consumers, businesses must expand their options at checkout and prepare for an omnichannel future.

www.mastercard.ae