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Companies from hazardous sector top the list as socially responsible

PetroChina

Oil, pulp and paper and steel productions may be considered among the most hazardous industries environmentally and socially, yet companies in these sectors have topped the Hurun Report's list of the most socially responsible businesses on the mainland.

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the major oil producer and the parent of Hong Kong-listed PetroChina, topped the list of biggest corporate givers and most socially responsible firms.

Hurun, a Shanghai-based wealth-tracking firm, polled most of the mainland's top 500 enterprises. It said CNPC gave away 720 million yuan between 2003 and last year, had the largest workforce - 1 million - and was the biggest corporate taxpayer, paying 17.71 billion yuan tax last year.

Hurun's list showed that a growing number of companies are socially becoming more responsible and raising their commitment to charity and environmental protection. Of the top 50 givers, 34 were mainland-owned - either state-run or privately held - up from 24 a year earlier. Foreign enterprises accounted for the rest.

Second on the list was Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), an Indonesian company which has been the target of a long-running Greenpeace campaign over its environmental and social practices in Indonesia.

'From an environmental perspective, APP is an odd choice for the top three,' said Stephen Frost, director of CSR Asia, an advocate of corporate responsibility.

Baosteel, China's largest steel maker, was given third place.

HSBC, was named the most generous donor in the financial sector.

In cash donations, 85-year-old Yu Pengnian, chairman of Shenzhen-based Pengnian Hotel, was named the mainland's oldest and most generous philanthropist for the second year in a row. Since 2003 he has funnelled US$260 million to charities, largely for cataract patients.

Additional reporting by Cameron Dueck

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