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Leading multinationals
compete with countries on world list of largest entities
Twenty-nine of the world’s 100 largest economic entities are multinational corporations, according to a new UNCTAD list that ranks both countries and MNCs on the basis of value added. Of the 200 multinationals with the highest assets abroad in 2000, Exxon is the biggest in terms of value added ($63 billion). It ranks 45th on the new list, making it comparable in economic size to the economies of Chile or Pakistan. Nigeria comes in just between DaimlerChrysler and General Electric, while Philip Morris is on a par with Tunisia, Slovakia and Guatemala. Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is the only commerce company on the top 100 list, placing itself before countries such as Cuba, Uruguay, Tunisia, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Croatia. The value-added activities of the 100 largest multinationals have grown faster than those of countries in recent years, accounting for 4.3% of world GDP in 2000, compared with 3.5% in 1990. This suggests that the relative importance of these companies in the global economy is on the rise. |
