Huawei ranked top private enterprise for fourth straight year by China’s leading state-backed business association, followed by HNA Group
- All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) ranks top Chinese companies annually
- Huawei has inspired Chinese people during trade war, which may be one reason it topped the list, analyst says
Huawei Investment and Holding was crowned as the champion of China’s top 500 private enterprises on Thursday, winning the title for the fourth consecutive year in the ranking of domestic private companies by a quasi-governmental group.
Indebted Chinese conglomerate HNA Group was picked as the runner up. Suning Holdings Group, a home appliance retailing conglomerate, took third place.
Chinese internet giant Alibaba and Tencent did not join the competition, according to a report issued by the authority, which did not elaborate on the reasons. (Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.)
The top 500 list is an annual ranking conducted by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), which is something akin to the Chamber of Commerce in the US and was founded in 1953. It acts as “a bridge for the party and the government to connect with the non-public economy”, its official website said.
Gao Yunlong, chairman of the ACFIC, also acts as vice-chairman of China’s top political advisory body, called the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
“The ranking of enterprises in China always carries some signal that is beyond making just economic sense,” said Xiao Lei, a Beijing based financial columnist with news portal Sina.