The world’s richest company worth £4.9tn – more than Amazon and Apple combined
The firm has an eyewatering amount of assets and dwarfs both of the huge US companies.
In today’s age of mass, global capitalism, the world is dominated by huge companies making vast amounts of revenue. If you were asked to name which you think is the largest, you may name a large US firm, such as Apple or Amazon. They are indeed enormous firms, with assets of $344billion (£257billion) and $624billion (£466billion) respectively, according to Forbes. Its list of largest public firms in the world includes other obvious names, such as Toyota and HSBC. Apple is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California.
It is known for its consumer electronics, such as the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers, software and services. The company’s co-founder Steve Jobs became famous for presenting new products in jeans and turtle necks. He appeared in the 2023 film Blackberry, presenting the first iPhone in 2007. Amazon is another technology company, which dominates e-commerce. It also focuses on cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming and artificial intelligence (AI).
The company was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington, and originally started as an online marketplace for books.
But the company gradually expanded its offerings to include a wide range of products.
It now has its own TV, film and audiobook and podcast streaming services.
But one towers over the others.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. has assets of $6,668.6billion – or £4.9trillion on this side of the pond.
Forbes says that the partially state-owned outfit specialises in the provision of commercial banking and financial services, and operates through corporate and personal banking and treasury operations.
The ICBC is the largest of the “big four” banks in China, and the biggest in the world going by total assets.
Bloomberg says the bank offers deposits, loans, fund underwriting, foreign currency settlement and other services.
It has a branch in London, which “provides a range of diversified financial products to its Chinese, UK and international clients”.
