Renowned USA magazine Forbes recently released its 2009 Forbes Global 2000 rankings. Two enterprises from Fujian Province made it onto the list. Ranking in 389th place, the Industrial Bank became the first company from Fujian to make the Forbes top 500 listed companies.
The Forbes Global 2000 is one of the most authoritative and talked-about enterprise rankings in the world. The ranking targets public companies worldwide. Companies are given a ranking based on their scores in sales revenue, market value, assets and profitability. Companies that are listed in the Forbes Global 2000 are generally the largest and most influential companies in the world.
Listed in the A-share market in February 2007, the Industrial Bank made the Forbes Global 2000 in the very year that it went public, ranking in 682nd place. At the time it was the only company from Fujian Province to make the top 1000. With the steady, fast and healthy growth of its business, the Industrial Bank has climbed almost 300 places up the rankings over the past two years to enter the top 500. The company ranks 17th among the 91 Chinese enterprises listed in the rankings.
It is especially worth noting that the 2009 Forbes Global 2000 witnessed a huge shake-up of financial enterprises worldwide. The financial giants of Europe and America, who have long coveted the top-spots in the rankings, have suffered a major drop in rankings owing to the damage they have suffered in the international financial crisis as a result of high-risk practices. Certain major players such as the Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns have even disappeared from the rankings altogether after going bankrupt. On the contrary, Chinese financial enterprises like the Industrial Bank have surpassed their counterparts to gain higher ranks thanks to their increasing strength on the power of prudent operations and stable development. According to the latest rankings, IB ranks 62 nd place among the 307 listed banks worldwide, up 46 places over the previous year, surpassing Citibank (ranking 472nd in general and 73rd among banks) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (ranking 431st in general and 68 th among banks).
As the only nationwide public bank in China to be based on the west coast of the Taiwan Strait, the Industrial Bank, under the guidance of Scientific Outlook on Development, has devoted itself to the economic development of China . The bank has maintained a sound and fast growth momentum for a number of years, with scale, quality and revenue continuing to increase in leaps and bounds. The main business indicators of the bank have continued to reach new highs. By the end of 2008, the bank had total assets of over RMB 1 trillion, after-tax profits for 2008 exceeding RMB 10 billion and a non-performing loan ratio of less than 1%. The quality and profit indicators of the bank were among the best in the world.