Reliance Industries remains the most valuable company in India, according to the Hurun Global 500 2023, a list of the world’s 500 most valuable non-state-controlled companies, released on Wednesday.
However, globally, no Indian company is in the top 40. Reliance Industries ranked 44th with a total valuation of $198 billion. The report highlighted that Reliance, also the most valuable Indian company last year, fell ten places in the rankings, while its net worth fell 2 percent that year.
Reliance Industries was followed by Tata Consultancy Services (60) and HDFC Bank (68). TCS’s net worth rose 14 percent to $158 billion over the year. The ranking improved by five places in 2023.
“After merging with sister company HDFC, India-based HDFC Bank has jumped 43 positions to 68th,” the report said.
Two companies, Titan Company and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, made the top 500; Titan thanks to an expansion with 90 new stores and Sun Pharma due to important acquisitions in Israel.
Notably, 48 companies have disappeared from the list due to a decline in their valuations, including Binance and Activision Blizzard. For India, it included three companies from the Adani group: Adani Transmission, Adani Green Energy and Adani Total Gas.
Overall, India has fallen one place to sixth with 18 companies on the list.
Globally, the list highlights that it is the first time that five companies have exceeded the $1 trillion valuation. These were Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Nvidia. All the companies in the top four were the same.
Impact of ChatGPT
Interestingly, Microsoft ($708 billion) and Nvidia (697 billion) were two companies that saw the maximum valuation gain. Both companies are associated with artificial intelligence software ChatGPT. Microsoft has announced significant investments in OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT.
Nvidia, on the other hand, supplies the company with semiconductors. The country rose fourteen places as its wealth tripled last year.
“Perhaps the biggest winner from the ChatGPT explosion in the world a year ago has been Nvidia, which struck gold by dominating with powerful chips for AI, data centers and emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles and the metaverse,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and chief. researcher from Hurun Report.
OpenAI itself ranked 291st for the first time with a valuation of $50 billion.
“OpenAI was part of the Hurun Global 500 for the first time at a valuation of $50 billion, although it is currently in discussions to raise investments of $86 billion,” Hoogewerf added.
Taiwan-based TSMC was another semiconductor company in the top 10 with a valuation of $512 billion. All companies in the top 10, except TSMC, were from the US.
Additionally, Eli Lilly entered the top 10 with a valuation of $526 billion, an increase of 62 percent from the previous year. The company’s success can be attributed to its new weight-loss drug, Zepbound.
First print: January 31, 2024 | 12:32 pm IST
