In this article, we will be taking a look at top 15 Chinese stocks by market cap. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the Top 5 Chinese Stocks by Market Cap.
China’s meteoric rise to become the second biggest economy in the world is quite surprising, especially considering the chaos the country endured in the preceding decades which led to the deaths of millions from man-made famines while the 1970s saw economical and educational decline in the country while millions were purged mainly through politicide.
In terms of GDP by purchasing power parity, China is easily the biggest economy in the world though it is second in absolute terms to the United States. Despite its massive growth in the last two decades, China is still among the fastest growing economies in the world, and is both the largest exporter and the largest manufacturer in the world.
Unlike most of the other major economies, including in Europe and the United States, the Chinese economy is focused majorly on government intervention and state-owned companies dominating while mixed-ownership enterprises are common as well. While there is a large domestic private sector, there is a major influence of multinationals as well, though China does often impose restrictions on how foreign companies are able to enter China, often requiring partnering with domestic companies which has sometimes caused issues, such as Warner Bros. withdrawing its cinema business in China after discovering a regulation that would force it to give a Chinese company at least a 51% stake or to at least play a leading role in a foreign joint venture.
Pixabay/Public Domain
According to McKinsey, China is expected to have the highest level of consumption of any country in the world in the next decade. This is not a surprise considering its massive size and being home to the largest labor in the world with close to 800 million people. The presence of an increasing wealthy middle-class with higher disposable income than ever before has attracted many foreign companies despite the restrictions imposed by China. For example, Volkswagen has a major presence in China which is its biggest market and accounts for more than 40% of total car sales. Volkswagen started two major joint ventures in China such as FAW-Volkswagen and SAIC Volkswagen with its operations growing significantly in the past decade.
As mentioned earlier, most of the biggest companies in terms of assets and revenue are owned by the state. These companies operate in several sectors including utility and infrastructure, even if many of them are not among the Chinese companies with the highest market cap. These companies earn tens of billions of dollars in revenue and employ hundreds of thousands of people accounting for more than 60% of the country’s total market capitalization in 2019. They were also responsible for more than 40% of China’s GDP in 2020 contributing around $4 trillion. Towards the close of 2019, the total assets owned by all state-owned companies in China were close to $60 trillion. 91 of these companies are part of the Fortune Global 500 list.
On the other hand, private Chinese companies which grow to significant levels often find themselves earning the ire of the government. According to CNN, China’s crackdown on private companies in the country has resulted in the loss of more than $1.2 trillion in market value which has also stimulated fears of whether innovation will be stifled in the second wealthiest country in the world. However, the government of China isn’t intent on destroying all private ventures. It just wants to ensure that such companies make sure that they follow the terms of the Chinese Communist Party, the ruling party. Many companies have been hit with big fines by the government. In August 2021, in just one week, the market saw hundreds of billions of dollars being wiped off after curbs were announced by the government on the for-profit education industry and also the food delivery sector.
One of these actions was pulling the IPO for Ant Group which was supposed to take place in November 2021 and was supposed to be one of the biggest IPOs in history. Ant Group was then told to overhaul its structure and to become a financial holding company, which it has since complied with. Meanwhile, the government also slapped a $2.8 billion fine on one of the biggest companies in China, Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA), after regulators accused it of acting as a monopoly, while other major companies such as Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD) and Tencent Holdings were also investigated for potential anti-competitive behavior.
To determine the list of the biggest Chinese stocks by market cap, we first determined the biggest companies in China. We then ranked them based on their market cap based on their latest numbers as of 17th November 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 market cap of the company as at 17th November 2022 (in billions): 93.1
BYD is a Chinese conglomerate and engages in the production of automobiles, electric bicycles, trucks, solar panels, rechargeable batteries and buses.
14. China Life Insurance
Total market cap of the company at 17th November 2022 (in billions): 106.5
One of the largest life insurance companies in the world, China Life Insurance provides annuity and life insurance products. The company has close t0 100,000 employees and currently has around 317 million long-term individual and group life policies in force.
13. Ping An Insurance
Total market cap of the company at 17th November 2022 (in billions): 108.2
Ping An Insurance is a major Chinese conglomerate which provides several different services including banking, asset management, insurance, healthcare and financial. It is considered to be the largest insurance company in the world and in 2021, had $121.7 billion written in premiums. The company currently has more than 350,000 employees.
12. CM Bank
Total market cap of the company at 17th November 2022 (in billions): 115.6
China Merchant Bank has more than 500 branches domestically as well as one in Hong Kong, in addition to 1,567 self-service banks within China.
11. Bank of China
Total market cap of the company at 17th November 2022 (in billions): 121.6
Headquartered in Beijing, the Bank of China is a commercial bank which is the second oldest bank in the country. It is also the second-largest lender in the country.
10. Meituan
Total market cap of the company at 17th November 2022 (in billions): 123.1
Meituan is a shopping platform for various consumer goods in addition to services such as delivery, dining and travel among others. By 2018, the company had more than 600 million registered users and over 290 million monthly active users.
9. PetroChina
Total market cap of the company at 17th November 2022 (in billions): 126.6
PetroChina is one of the biggest oil and gas companies in the world, with revenues of nearly $300 billion, making it one of the biggest companies in the world by revenue. Like Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) and Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD), PetroChina is one of the biggest companies in China.
8. CATL
Total market cap of the company at 17th November 2022 (in billions): 128.2
CATL is a manufacturer of batteries which specializes 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. Dominating the lithium-ion battery industry, CATL had a 32.6% market share in 2021 in the production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicle, making it the biggest such company in the world. While it’s currently producing close to 100 GWh annually, the company expects to increase it to more than 800 GWh by 2030.
7. Agricultural Bank of China
Total market cap of the company at 17th November 2022 (in billions): 138.1
Banks dominate the top 10 Chinese stocks by market cap, with the Agricultural Bank of China being no exception. While it maintains branches in several countries, the bank is the third-biggest lender in China in terms of assets. Additionally, the Agricultural Bank of China has over 2.7 million corporate clients in addition to 320 million retail customers and has 24,000 branches. In 2010, the bank had the biggest IPO in history at the time.
6. China Mobile
Total market cap of the company at 17th November 2022 (in billions): 146.5
China Mobile is a state-owned company which provides multimedia services and mobile services. It is the biggest wireless carrier in the world and has close to 950 million subscribers. The company recorded revenues of over $100 billion in 2021. Like Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) and Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD), China Mobile is one of the biggest companies in China.
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Disclosure: None. top 15 Chinese stocks by market cap is originally published at Insider Monkey.