China leads U.S. with 5 of world top 10 firms
China Life Insurance Co has beaten AT& T Inc in market value, brought China to the leading position with five of the world’s top 10 companies, compared to three for the U.S.
The five Chinese firms are China life Insurance Co<601628><2628><LFC>, PetroChina<857><PTR>, China Mobile<941><CHL>, Industrial & Commercial bank of China (ICBC)<601398><1398> and China Petroleum &Chemical<600028><386><SNP>.
China Life, the nation’s leading provider of life insurance and annuity products, gained 1.1% in Hong Kong and added 5.3% in Shanghai on Oct. 29 before it released the quarterly report, which valued the company at RMB 1.94 trillion.
The Chinese giants are now aiming at global acquisitions. ICBC, the world’s largest bank by market value, plans to establish branches in New York and Moscow, and now steps up with its expansion agenda, its chairman Jiang Jianqing said in a recent interview.
China is now enjoying a notable growth rate through diversified business sectors. The stock rally has nearly tripled its benchmark index in 2007. In addition, the country’s households are injecting more of their US$ 2.3 trillion savings into the equity market to tackle the high inflation, which has exceeded the return of bank deposits.
Tags: China-Life, China-Mobile, deposits, ICBC, inflation, Insurance, PetroChina