Lenovo Holding, Jiangsu Shagang Group and Shanghai Fosun High Technology are the top three private firms in the country, according to a report released by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce on Monday in Beijing.
This annual report was first released in 1999.
Holding on to its top position for the seventh consecutive year, Lenovo reported a turnover of 41.92 billion yuan (US$5.18 billion) in 2004.
The 500th largest private firm, the last one in the list, reported 0.97 billion yuan (US$119.8 million), 0.36 billion yuan (US$44.5 million) more than the previous year.
About 2,119 companies participated in the survey. Their total revenues reached 2.21416 trillion yuan (US$273.5 billion), post-tax net profits 106.87 billion yuan (US$13.2 billion), and assets 1.87907 trillion yuan (US$232.1 billion).
The federation raised the selection threshold from 120 million yuan (US$14.8 million) in 2003 to 200 million yuan (US$24.7 million) in 2004.
In 2004, tax revenues from sizable private companies – companies with annual sales revenues above 5 million yuan – was 88.43 billion yuan (US$10.92 billion). Among them, 192 companies each paid taxes of more than 100 million yuan (US$12.35 million) and collectively employed 4.383 million people. Fifty-two of the companies surveyed hired over 10,000 persons. The average number of employees was 2,069, up 21.6 percent over the same period last year.
In the past year, all the companies in the list strengthened their competitive advantage. Total turnover was 1.53824 trillion yuan (US$190 billion), up 42.9 percent from the same period last year; assets were valued at 1.20109 trillion yuan (US$148.4 billion), up 29.7 percent; net profits were up 39 percent to 70.51 billion yuan (US$8.7 billion); tax revenues increased by 33.6 percent to 58.51 billion yuan (US$7.2 billion); and number of employees was 2.442 million, up 14.4 percent.
About 83.4 percent of top 500 companies are located in the east China regions, 11 percent in central China and 5.6 percent in west China: Zhejiang (36.6 percent), Jiangsu (22.6 percent), Shandong (8.8 percent), Shanghai (6.2 percent) and Sichuan (3.6 percent).
The companies are mainly engaged in labor-intensive businesses, a market that opened about 20 years ago. Among them, 58 companies are in the textile sector, 57 in black metal and non-ferrous metal smelting, 42 in electrical and machine manufacturing, 42 in wholesale and retailing, 37 in integrated services, and 26 in garments production.
Through investments or acquisitions in recent years, more and more private companies are making inroads to the capital-intensive and technology-intensive sectors that are largely dominated by state-owned enterprises. But very few of them have been able to fully penetrate the oil, telecoms, finance and public facilities sectors, which are still effectively a state monopoly.
In 2004, the government implemented macro-control measures to keep a check on the development speed, so as to prevent premature overheating. Despite these measures, many of the Top 500 were able to maintain steady and even rapid growth.
The report also reveals that many private companies are now looking to expand and diversify their portfolios through investments and acquisitions. Many of them show growing interest in up and coming industries such as metallurgy, petrochemicals, energy, telecoms, finance, information and public facilities.
Unfortunately, expansion requires talented personnel, management and information skills, and technical innovation, all of which are currently lacking. Human resource, tax and financing issues, and the existing legal environment were highlighted as stumbling blocks to more rapid development.
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Top Ten By Turnover
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1
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Lenovo Holding Co., Ltd.
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2
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Jiangsu Shagang Group Co., Ltd.
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3
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Shanghai Fosun High Technology (Group) Co., Ltd.
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4
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Orient Group Holding Co. Ltd.
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5
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Suning Appliance Corporation
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6
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Guangsha Holding Venture Capital Co., Ltd.
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7
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Shanghai Huaye Iron & Steel Group Co., Ltd.
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8
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Nanjing SVT Group Co., Ltd.
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9
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UTStarcom Incorporated
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10
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Huafang Group Co., Ltd.
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(China.org.cn by Tang Fuchun August 31, 2005)