The Top 500 Companies In The Arab World

Featuring only publically-listed companies, the Top 500 Companies in the Arab World builds on FORBES’ pioneering Global 2000 and was based on disclosed financial statements for 2013, collated from stock markets across the region. Criteria considered when producing the list include total revenue, net profits, total assets, and market capitalization.

A total of 11 countries are represented in the list, and with financial performance as of December 2013 as the reference point, their combined revenues stand at $383.67 billion and net profits, $71.68 billion. These figures equate to year-on-year increases of 12% and 16.2%, respectively, while aggregated total assets grew 19% to reach a sizable $2.64 trillion.

Unsurprisingly, GCC companies dominate the lineup, with the top 10 including four entries from Saudi Arabia, three from the UAE, two from Qatar and one from Kuwait.

Once again, topping the list is Saudi Arabia’s SABIC with $50 billion in revenues and an asset base of $90.4 billion. Also in a repeat from last year, Saudi Telecom, which turned profit of $2.6 billion, resides comfortably in second place.

In terms of number of entries, Saudi Arabia dominates not just the top 10, but the overall ranking. As the biggest economy in the region, the Kingdom occupies more than one-fifth of the list, with each of its 108 entries listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange, Tadawul. The combined market value of the one hundred-plus companies stands at $746.33 billion, with $746.33 billion in assets and revenues of $162.06 billion.

Kuwait features with the second highest number of entries this year with the National Bank of Kuwait, which is ranked 10th overall, leading the way.

For their part, 74 UAE companies enter the list, with Etisalat, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank finishing in the top 10. Egypt lands in fourth place where volume of entries is concerned, followed by Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Lebanon and Iraq, respectively.

This year the industrials sector witnessed the highest number of entries with 24.2 % of the total lineup, followed by the banking sector with 20.2%. Attesting to the region’s economic recovery, real estate companies fared well too, accounting for 10.4% of entries with the UAE developer, Emaar Properties, ranked top in the category.

Emirate:  Abu Dhabi

Date: Jun 19, 2014

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