Gree makes Forbes list of world's top 300 companies

Gree Electric Appliances has risen 70 places to 294th on the Forbes 2018 Global 2000 list of the world's biggest companies -- the company's best ranking so far.

Gree's performance in recent years is reflected by a higher composite score from equally weighted measures of revenue, profits, assets, and market value.

The company's sales revenues were $23.9 billion last year, resulting in $3.6 billion in profit with total assets at $34.7 billion and market value of $45.1 billion

Gree was founded in 1992 as a State-owned company with headquarters in Qianshan, Xiangzhou District of Zhuhai. Primarily known as China's largest manufacturer of air conditioners, the company has become an industrial conglomerate.

Gree makes Forbes Top 300 list [Photo courtesy Gree]

Its business scope now covers heating and ventilation equipment, smart devices, air-energy heaters, and industrial products. Gree has six subsidiaries with a global network of production sites plus five renewable-resource research bases throughout China -- all contributing to an industrial chain ranging from parts manufacturing to the recycling of water products.

In the top 10 places on the list, the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank maintained the top two places for the sixth year in a row. Following closely is JP Morgan Chase and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, an American multinational conglomerate holding company, which took third and fourth place respectively.

The Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Apple, Bank of China, and Ping An Insurance constitute the rest of the top 10. The US and China split the top 10 evenly for the first time since 2015.

The Forbes 2018 Global 2000 list contains entrants from 60 countries and regions. Among them, 291 companies are from China and 560 are from the US. In all, the companies on the list account for $39.1 trillion in sales, $3.2 trillion in profits, $189 trillion in assets, and $56.8 trillion in market value. All metrics are up double-digits year-on-year, with profits up 28 percent.