GE emerges world's largest company: Forbes

NEW YORK: Diversified industrial conglomerate General Electric has topped the league of world's 2,000 biggest companies compiled by American business magazine Forbes, displacing British banking entity HSBC Holdings.

The US giant which was ranked at the second place last year, has pipped HSBC Holdings from the top position. In the latest list Forbes list of biggest public companies, HSBC Holdings is at the sixth spot.

Among the top five, there are three oil companies - Royal Dutch Shell ranked second, ExxonMobil at the fourth position and BP placed at the fifth spot.

Japanese auto maker Toyota has cornered the third place in the league.

There are 47 Indian companies in the list and is led by Reliance Industries which is ranked at the 121st position.

Forbes said the 2000 global companies now account for USD 32 trillion in revenues, USD 1.6 trillion in profits, USD 125 trillion in assets and USD 20 trillion in market value.

In the past year, combined profit was down 31 per cent while market value fell dropped per cent.

"Even a depression is a place for opportunity if you have cash, scale and ambition. Many of the names on this year's Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's biggest companies will emerge on the other side of the trough far stronger when world economies snap back next year," the magazine said.