The Hurun China 500 Most Valuable Private Companies 2024 (Hurun China 500), a list of the Top 500 China-based non-state-controlled enterprises ranked according to value, was released on February 25. In terms of regional distribution, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) has 108 companies on the list, accounting for 21% of the country.
The GBA is second only to the Yangtze River Delta region with 149 companies, which accounts for 29%. In terms of provinces, Guangdong ranks second with 81 listed companies, second only to Taiwan.
Four Shenzhen companies, including Tencent Holdings, Ping An Insurance, BYD, and Huawei, rounded out the top ten. In terms of cities, Shenzhen ranks third with 49 companies on the list, following Beijing's 65 and Shanghai's 50.
High-tech firms like AI, chips, and semiconductors are strongly represented in Hurun’s China 500. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) topped the list for the fourth year running. Tencent Holdings ranked second, and ByteDance overtook Alibaba Group Holding, ranking third.
The growth in AI can be seen in Hurun China 500. For the software side of things, Pony.ai from Guangzhou, valued at 30 billion yuan, and Weride, valued at 34.5 billion yuan, have also had good years. DeepSeek is not on this year's Hurun China 500, as it exploded into the global market only after the cut-off date for the list.
The list also shows that the value of 291 companies on the list has increased compared with the previous year, including 74 new companies. Among them, the companies with the largest value growth are mainly from the industrial products, semiconductor, and consumer goods industries.
The number of companies in industrial products increased the most, becoming the largest industry in the Hurun China 500, with an increase of 8%. The healthcare and consumer goods industries dropped one place to rank second and third, respectively. This shows a new trend in China's economic transformation in private enterprises and technological innovation.
Going global has also become an important trend for Chinese companies. Among the companies on the list, those with overseas revenues exceeding 100 billion yuan in 2023 include Lenovo, Huawei, SHEIN, Geely, ByteDance, BYD, Midea, CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology), Xiaomi, and Haier Smart Home.
The pace of Guangdong's private enterprises going global is also accelerating. Huawei's overseas revenue reached over 230 billion yuan, accounting for one-third of its total revenue, with a primary focus on the European, Middle Eastern, and African markets. Midea's overseas revenue amounted to 150 billion yuan, representing 40% of its total revenue, with key markets in the Americas, Europe, and other Asian countries. SHEIN's sales reached over 230 billion yuan, covering regions such as North America, Europe, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and South America.
The Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun, Rupert Hoogewerf, said: “The Hurun China 500 are the backbone of the Chinese economy. It is worth 60% more than in 2019, showing how China's economy has grown.”
Reporter | Dai Bosi
Table | Hurun Research Institute
Editor | Hu Nan, James, Shen He
