LIC breaks into 2022 Fortune Global 500; list features 9 Indian companies

Nine Indian public and private companies have made it to the prestigious 2022 Fortune Global 500 list, with insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India ranking 98th on the list with revenue worth $97,266.7 million ($97.2 billion), up 2.6% YoY, in 2021-22. The company broke into the list this year after it was listed on domestic stock exchanges in May this year.

India's largest private business conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. has been ranked 104th, with $93,982 million ($93.9 billion) in revenue in 2021-22, up 49.4% from the year 2020-21. RIL's rank in Fortune's Global 500 jumped 51 spots in one year.

The U.S. retail behemoth Walmart Inc. claims the top spot for the ninth consecutive year, and for the 17th time since 1995. Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco (No. 6) has reclaimed its title as the world's most profitable company, with $105 billion in earnings.

The top 10 companies in the Fortune Global 500 list 2022 are 1. Walmart (U.S.), 2. Amazon.com (U.S.) , 3. State Grid (China), 4. China National Petroleum (China), 5. Sinopec (China) , 6. Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia), 7. Apple (U.S.) , 8. Volkswagen (Germany) , 9. China State Construction Engineering (China), and 10. CVS Health (U.S.).

Fortune ranks companies by total revenues for their respective fiscal years ended on or before March 31, 2022.

From India, state-owned Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) has been ranked 142nd, up from 212 in 2020-21. The company's revenue in 2021-22 stood at $79,542.4 million ($79.5 billion), up 57.7% since 2020-21. Another state-owned PSU Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), whose ranking improved to 190 from 243 in 2020-21, saw a 41.6% jump in revenue to $65,961.5 million ($65.9 billion).

State Bank of India (SBI), which is the country's largest public sector bank, saw its ranking declining by 31 places to 236 from 205 in 2020-21. The bank's revenue rose 5.2% to $54,643.2 in 2021-22.

The next company that made it to the famous list is Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), which secured the 295th position. Its tally improved by 99 places from 2020-21, and revenue rose 49.7% to $46,867.3 million in 2021-22. The three more companies ranked on the Fortune Global 500 list 2022 are -- Tata Motors, Tata Steel, and Rajesh Exports.

Tata Motors saw its yearly ranking declining by 13 places to 370, with revenue rising 11.1% YoY to $37,797.9 million in 2021. Another Tata group company Tata Steel, whose revenue grew 55.2% to $32,861.1 million in 2021, also made it to the list for the first time. It has been ranked 435th.

Another Indian company Rajesh Exports, a global gold retailer, has been ranked 437th on the list. Its ranking declined from 348 in 2020, while its revenue also dipped 6.2% to $32,649.5 million.

On the global level, Mainland China (including Hong Kong), with 136 companies, once again has the most firms on the list, up one from last year. The U.S., with 124, is up two; in third place, Japan lost six, for a total of 47. For the first time, the aggregate revenue of Fortune Global 500 companies based in Greater China (including Taiwan) exceeded the revenue of U.S. companies on the list, accounting for 31% of the total.

Fortune Global 500 companies generated revenues totalling $37.8 trillion — more than one-third of the world's GDP — for an increase of 19% over last year. It marked the highest annual growth rate in the list's 33-year history.

Cumulative profits were up 88% over last year, for a record $3.1 trillion. Companies on the 2022 list employ 69.6 million people worldwide and are based in 229 cities and 33 countries and regions around the world. The number of women CEOs of Fortune Global 500 companies rose to 24 this year, from 23 last year.