Conglomerates On Fire;

摘要

The Asia-Pacific region led The Global 2000 again this year with 701 companies, including the most additions to the list of the four regions (11) and by far the biggest increase in profits (they doubled). The biggest profit center was China, no surprise, as 121 companies, including.Petrochina, ICBC and Sinopec, returned an aggregate profit of $168 billion. But Japan's and South Korea's conglomerate-led rosters provided surprisingly impressive returns: Japan turned from deficit to the region's second-most-profitable nation and added assets and employees despite losing ten companies (Sumikin Bussan and Makita among them); South Korea added ten companies, more than China, and saw profits surge 178%. New additions: Samsung Life Insurance, Honam Petrochemical.