Top 40 Arab Companies On Forbes Global 2000 List

The Global 2000 list is the Forbes' ranking of the top 2000 companies in the world based on assets, profits, revenues, and market value. This year,40 companies from the Middle East made the list.

The highlight was the arrival of Saudi Aramco onto the list, making its debut in fifth place. The oil giant is currently the most valuable company in the world with a market value of $1.6 trillion. The second next most valuable company in the world after Aramco is Apple with a value of $1.2 trillion.

The difference in value between Aramco and Apple in market value is more than double the market value of ExxonMobil—the second-largest oil company in the world—which is valued at $195 billion.

Aramco is also the most profitable company in the world with $88.2 billion in profits, putting it ahead of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway which made $81 billion in profits. Aramco is also the top-ranked non-financial services company on the list and the top energy company in the world.

Saudi Arabia is the most represented middle eastern country on the list, contributing 14 of the region’s 40 companies. Sabic is ranked 3rd in the region, and 212 overall, with a market value of $59.8 billion, making it the second most valuable company in the region. stc is the top telecom company, ranked fifth in the region, and 335th globally. National Commercial Bank is the Saudi’s leading bank—it was also the bookrunner for the Saudi Aramco IPO. It has $135 billion in assets.

The UAE is the second most represented regional country on the Forbes Global 2000 with nine companies. The First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) is the leading Emirati company on the list, ranked fourth in the region and 303rd in the world, with assets and market value of $227.4 billion and $34.4 billion respectively. Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank, was ranked 351st globally, followed by the country’s largest telecom operator, Etisalat. They were ranked sixth and seventh in the region.

Qatar has six entries on the list, with QNB being the top bank in the region. Four of the six companies from Qatar were banks. Kuwait has three companies on the list. The National Bank of Kuwait is the top Kuwaiti company on the list, with $96.5 billion in assets.

Attijariwafa Bank and Banque Centrale Populaire are the only two Moroccan companies on the list. And, even though Lebanon is facing a financial crisis, two of its banks—Bank Audi and Blom Bank—managed to make the list. Bahrain Egypt, Jordan, Oman have one company each on the list.