Eleven mainland companies are on a corruption and fraud blacklist compiled by the World Bank.
Top of the list is the UK with 49 offenders, followed by Bangladesh with 38 and Indonesia with 37. The US has 17 companies and persons on the black list.
The firms and individuals on the list, which is part of efforts to promote greater transparency and accountability in business, are not eligible for World Bank-financed contracts.
Until yesterday, the decision-making process behind the sanctions was confidential.
'The bank has taken a major step towards greater transparency and accountability by authorising the publication of decisions in new sanctions cases,' said World Bank president Robert Zoellick.
The World Bank has sanctioned 456 firms and individuals globally. Under a 2010 cross-debarment agreement, contractors debarred by the World Bank may also be debarred by other multilateral development banks such as the Asian Development Bank.