In this article we will take a look at it Top 15 Chinese stocks by market capitalization. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go straight to the view Top 5 Chinese stocks by market capitalization.
China’s meteoric rise to become the world’s second-largest economy is quite surprising, especially given the chaos the country endured in the preceding decades, which resulted in the deaths of millions from man-made famines, while the country witnessed an economic and educational decline during the 1970s Millions were purged mainly through political assassination.
In terms of GDP by purchasing power parity, China is by far the largest economy in the world, although in absolute terms it ranks second to the United States. Despite its massive growth over the past two decades, China is still among the fastest growing economies in the world and is both the world’s largest exporter and largest manufacturer.
Unlike most other major economies, including those in Europe and the United States, China’s economy is primarily centered on government intervention and state-owned enterprises, which dominate, while mixed-ownership companies are also common. While there is a large domestic private sector, there is also a large influence of multinational companies, although China often imposes restrictions on how foreign companies can enter China, which often requires partnering with domestic companies, which has sometimes led to problems like Warner Bros. is pulling out of its cinema business in China after discovering regulation that would force it to give at least a 51% stake to a Chinese company or at least play a leading role in a foreign joint venture.
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According to McKinsey, China is expected to have the highest level of consumption of any country in the world over the next decade. This is no surprise given its massive size and home to the world’s largest workforce of nearly 800 million people. The presence of a growing affluent middle class with higher disposable incomes than ever before has attracted many foreign companies, despite restrictions imposed by China. For example, Volkswagen has a strong presence in China, its largest market, which accounts for more than 40% of all car sales. Volkswagen has established two major joint ventures in China, including FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen, whose operations have grown significantly over the past decade.
As mentioned earlier, most of the largest corporations in terms of assets and revenue are owned by the state. These companies operate in multiple sectors, including utilities and infrastructure, although many of them are not among the largest market caps in China. These companies generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue and employ hundreds of thousands of people, making up more than 60% of the country’s total market cap in 2019. They were also responsible for more than 40% of China’s GDP in 2020, contributing around US$4 trillion. By the end of 2019, the combined assets of all state-owned enterprises in China were nearly $60 trillion. 91 of these companies are part of the Fortune Global 500 list.
On the other hand, private Chinese companies that grow to significant levels often find themselves in the wrath of the government. According to CNN, China’s crackdown on private companies in the country has resulted in a loss of more than $1.2 trillion in market value, which has also fueled fears over stifling innovation in the world’s second-richest country. However, the Chinese government has no intention of destroying all private enterprise. It just wants to make sure that such companies make sure they follow the terms of the Chinese Communist Party, the ruling party. Many companies have been heavily fined by the government. In August 2021, in just one week, the market wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars after the government announced restrictions on the for-profit education industry and also the food delivery sector.
One of those moves was to pull off the IPO for Ant Group, which was scheduled to take place in November 2021 and was set to be one of the largest IPOs in history. Ant Group was then asked to revise its structure and become a financial holding company, which it has since complied with. Meanwhile, the government also fined one of China’s largest companies, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA), $2.8 billion after regulators accused it of operating as a monopoly while other large companies like Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ :PDD) and Tencent Holdings were also investigated for possible anti-competitive behavior.
To determine the list of the largest Chinese stocks by market capitalization, we first identified the largest companies in China. We then ranked them based on their market cap based on their latest numbers as of November 17, 2022. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the giants of the second most powerful country in the world, starting with number 15:
15.BYD
Total company market capitalization as of November 17, 2022 (in billions): 93.1
BYD is a Chinese conglomerate engaged in the production of automobiles, electric bicycles, trucks, solar panels, rechargeable batteries and buses.
14. China Life Insurance
Total company market capitalization on November 17, 2022 (in billions): 106.5
As one of the largest life insurance companies in the world, China Life Insurance provides annuity and life insurance products. The company employs almost 100,000 people and currently has around 317 million long-term individual and group life insurance policies in its portfolio.
13. Ped an insurance company
Total company market capitalization on November 17, 2022 (in billions): 108.2
Ping An Insurance is a large Chinese conglomerate that offers various services including banking, wealth management, insurance, healthcare and finance. It ranks as the largest insurance company in the world and had $121.7 billion in premiums written in 2021. The company currently employs more than 350,000 people.
12. CM Bank
Total company market capitalization on November 17, 2022 (in billions): 115.6
China Merchant Bank has more than 500 domestic branches plus one in Hong Kong, in addition to 1,567 self-service banks in China.
11. Bank of China
Total company market capitalization on November 17, 2022 (in billions): 121.6
Headquartered in Beijing, the Bank of China is a commercial bank that is the second oldest bank in the country. It is also the second largest lender in the country.
10. Meituan
Total company market capitalization on November 17, 2022 (in billions): 123.1
Meituan is a shopping platform for various consumer goods and services such as delivery, food and travel, among others. As of 2018, the company had more than 600 million registered users and over 290 million monthly active users.
9. PetroChina
Total company market capitalization on November 17, 2022 (in billions): 126.6
PetroChina is one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world with nearly $300 billion in revenue, making it one of the largest companies in the world by revenue. PetroChina is one of the largest companies in China along with Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) and Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD).
8.CATL
Total company market capitalization on November 17, 2022 (in billions): 128.2
CATL is a battery manufacturer specializing in lithium-ion batteries, which is incredibly important in a world where electric vehicles are the future of transportation. It also engages in the production of energy storage systems. CATL, which dominates the lithium-ion battery industry, had a 32.6% market share in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles in 2021, making it the largest such company in the world. While it currently produces nearly 100 GWh annually, the company expects to increase it to more than 800 GWh by 2030.
7. Agricultural Bank of China
Total company market capitalization on November 17, 2022 (in billions): 138.1
Banks dominate the top 10 Chinese stocks by market cap, with the Agricultural Bank of China being no exception. The bank has offices in several countries but is the third largest lender in China by assets. In addition, the Agricultural Bank of China has over 2.7 million corporate customers in addition to 320 million retail customers and has 24,000 branches. In 2010, the bank had what was then the largest IPO in history.
6. China Mobile
Total company market capitalization on November 17, 2022 (in billions): 146.5
China Mobile is a state-owned enterprise providing multimedia services and mobile services. It is the largest mobile operator in the world and has nearly 950 million subscribers. The company reported sales of over $100 billion in 2021. Like Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) and Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD), China Mobile is one of the largest companies in China.
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Disclosure: None. Top 15 Chinese Stocks by Market Cap was originally published by Insider Monkey.
