The United States dominates on the global rankings when it comes to having the largest companies in the world, as 9 out of 10 of the largest and most successful companies worldwide are from the U.S.
Because this piece covers the largest and most successful companies in the continent of Asia as of 2024, there may be some names on this list you haven’t heard of (because on the global rankings, they would be outside of the top 10).
Knowing what the largest companies in Asia are is a very important thing to know, as there are many ways to invest in those markets from places outside of Asia. There’s also a wide range of information out there about various investment groups in Asia, such as this impact investing article.
- Saudi Aramco
The largest company in Asia is Saudi Aramco, with a market cap of $2.1 trillion USD. They are the world’s third most valued company, behind Microsoft and Apple. Saudi Aramco began in 1933 when Saudi Arabia and the Standard Oil Company of California came to an agreement called the Concession Agreement where a subsidiary company – the California Arabian Standard Oil Company was created.
Since then, the company has grown to become one of the largest companies in the world and the leading exporter of oil and gas.
- TSMC
Ranked 12th in the world, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the second largest company in Asia and the largest in East Asia. With a market cap of $516 billion, they are also the world’s third largest manufacturer of semiconductors – behind Intel and Samsung.
TSMC was founded in 1987, and is located in Hsinchu, Taiwan. TSMC has plants that produce chips all around the world however, including some in both the U.S. and China.
- Samsung
Samsung is the third largest company to be based out of Asia, and the 21st largest in the world. The electronic manufacturing giant is from South Korea, and is the world’s largest producer of DRAM, NAND flash memory, SSD, televisions, refrigerators, and cellphones.
Samsung hit a high of $553 billion USD in market cap in January of 2021, and today sits around $386 billion USD.
The company was founded 85 years ago in Daegu, South Korea while the company was under Japanese control during World War 2. It has grown to become one of the largest companies in the world, with the eighth highest brand value globally.
- Tencent
The first name from China on this list is Tencent, with a market cap of $353 billion they are the fourth most successful business in Asia, the most successful in China, and the 23rd on global rankings.
Tencent was founded just 25 years ago in Shenzhen, China. They are the world’s largest video game publisher, having recently acquired the popular American video game company Epic Games – known for creating the hit game Fortnite.
- Kweichow Moutai
Kweichow Moutai is another Chinese company, with a market cap of $288 billion USD. This company is a manufacturer of one of China’s most popular drinks – Maotai. The drink company is considered to be the most valued spirits brand worldwide – and are the largest non-technology company in China.
- Toyota
At #6 for the largest and most successful companies in Asia, Toyota is also the largest company in Japan and largest automobile manufacturer in the world. In 2016, the company celebrated 10 million vehicles produced.
The company was founded in 1937, and grew alongside American automakers after World War 2 to become a leader in the automobile industry. Today, the company has a market cap of $252 billion USD and is the 38th largest company in the world.
- International Holding Company
Founded in 1998 and based out of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, International Holding Company is the 7th largest company in Asia and second largest in the Middle East. They invest in a wide range of things such as district cooling, contracting and real estate, digital, industrial, food, capital, and others.
International Holding Company has a market cap of $244 billion USD as of January 2024, which is an all-time high for the company.
- ICBC
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited is the 3rd largest company in China, 8th largest in Asia, and 44th largest in the world. It is the largest bank in China, and has ranked #1 on the Forbes Global 2000 List in the year 2019.
ICBC has a market cap of $221 billion USD, down quite a ways from its $574 billion all-time-high in January of 2018.
- Reliance Industries
The 9th largest company in Asia is Reliance Industries and is the largest company in India with a market cap of $210 billion USD. It is the 50th largest company worldwide, and was founded in 1958 by Dhirubhai Ambani. They specialize in energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, telecommunications, mass media, and textiles.
The company is India’s largest source of private tax, and the largest exporter in the country as they account for 7% of the country’s merchandise exports.
- Pinduoduo
Finally, at #10 is Pinduoduo – A Chinese company that is currently headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company was founded 9 years ago by Colin Huang Zheng, and is focused primarily in the agriculture industry. The company is known for its largely successful retail app – Temu.
If you want to know more about Pinduoduo and why it moved its headquarters to Ireland, check out this article from CNBC.
Wrapping It Up
Thanks for checking out this article going over the largest and most successful companies in Asia. We hope you found it interesting and now know a little bit more about the largest companies in Asia.
