Swiss companies among the biggest
Three Swiss firms are ranked among the world's 100 biggest according to the latest list published by the business magazine Fortune.
Based on their revenue last year, bank UBS is 31st, food multinational Nestlé is 57th, while another financial institution, Credit Suisse, is 74th.
The world's biggest company is the American distributor Wal-Mart, ahead of the petrol firm Exxon-Mobil. However the number of US companies in the Fortune 500 is at its lowest level (153) for over ten years.
Chinese, Indian and Mexican companies are making their presence felt. China now has for example 29 representatives in the top 500, including three among the 25 biggest.
Ten other Swiss firms are also listed in the annual ranking: Zurich Financial Services (121), pharmaceutical companies Roche (175) and Novartis (181), reinsurer Swiss Re (209), electro-engineering giant ABB (256), miner Xstrata (272), job specialist Adecco (274), cement maker Holcim (376), insurer Swiss Life (442) and distributor Migros (445).
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