The combined value of the top 150 listed companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) went up by $213 billion in the past one year and, at $916 billion, is inching towards the $1 trillion mark, according to a survey conducted for a business magazine. The list of Gulf Business Top 150 Companies, contained in the magazine's September edition, showed that the region's most valuable listed company remained firmly in the grasp of Saudi Arabia's SABIC with a market capitalization of $99 billion, almost three times that of second ranking Saudi Telecom Company (STC), which managed to retain its position for the fourth consecutive year. Other companies which topped the list included: Al-Rajhi Bank (3rd - $32.4 billion); Etisalat (4th - $31.8 billion); Industries Qatar (5th - $27.6 billion); Zain (6th - $27.2 billion); Kuwait Finance House (7th - $21.68 billion); National Bank of Kuwait (8th - $18.7 billion); Emaar Properties (9th - $17.5 billion); and Samba Financial Group (10th - $16.26 billion). Saudi Arabian firms continued to dominate the rankings, with 50 - or one-third - in the Top 150 list, Gulf Business senior editor Vicky Kapur said in a statement. With 35 companies, the United Arab Emirates came in second while Oman had the lowest number of companies making it to the list with just five listed companies, he said. The biggest gainer in this year's rankings was Dubai-based construction and engineering company Arabtec, which scaled 54 positions to secure the 82nd spot. “The company seemed to benefit from a bulging backlog of projects, and a doubling in achieved profitability,” said the head of research at Shuaa Capital and author of the report, Walid Shihabi. Now in its ninth year, the annual Gulf Business Top 150 Listed Companies in the GCC survey, conducted for the magazine by Shuaa Capital, is considered the most definitive ranking of listed companies in the region. Arabtec, which scaled 54 positions to secure the 82nd spot as opposed to last year's 136thhrank. “The company seemed to benefit from a bulging backlog of projects, and a doubling in achieved profitability,” said Walid Shihabi, director - head of research at Shuaa Capital, and author of the report. The UAE market, as a whole, made some notable gains this year, with the 35 listed companies that qualified representing around 23 percent of the aggregate, compared to 21 percent last year. Other UAE companies to gain positions in this year's survey include leading mortgage finance company Tamweel, and the Abu Dhabi real estate duo Aldar Properties and Surouh Real Estate. This year's listing ranks the top 150 companies based on their market capitalization as of Aug. 5, 2008.
