MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Latinamerican oil companies in Fortune 500.

The government owned oil companies of Mexico, PEMEX, and Venezuela, PDVSA, figure among the top hundred largest companies in the world, according to the latest ranking published by the US magazine Fortune.

Pemex figures 65 with an annual turnover of 49,2 billion US dollars and PDVSA 76 with 46 billion US dollars. YPF-Repsol now under Spanish control ranks 91 with a 42 billion US dollars turnover.

Fortune 500 top of the list is again Wal-Mart the US giant retailer with 1,5 million employees and an annual turnover of 262 billion US dollars.

Runner up is British Petroleum with 232 billion US dollars, first time BP figures above Exxon that recorded sales of 223 billion in 2003/04.

The top 10 ranking includes four oil companies and four automobile manufacturers and five non American corporations.

The other non American companies are Royal Dutch Shell with 201 billion US dollars, Daimler-Chrysler, 156,7 billion US dollars, Toyota, 153 billion US dollars and for the first time the French oil consortium Total with a turnover of 118,4 billion US dollars.

However the US corporations still dominate with General Motors in fifth place, (195,3 billion US dollars), Ford, sixth, 164 billion US dollars and General Electric, ninth, with 134 billion US dollars.

Fortune 500 includes 189 US corporations compared to 151 ten years ago, while the Japanese have dropped from 149 to 82 companies.

The number of European companies in one year increased from 166 to 170 and Asian from 122 to 123. The number of Chinese corporations in twelve months expanded from 11 to 15.

Fortune 500 also includes three Brazilian companies, oil consortium Petrobras ranking 144; Bradesco Bank, 353 and Banco do Brazil, 363.

The annual turnover of the Fortune 550 in the financial year ending 2004 was 14,9 trillion US dollars with record profits of 731 billion US dollars, according to Fortune editor Paola Hjelt.