JEDDAH, 29 January 2007 — Fifteen Saudi companies maintained their presence in the top DS100 ranking for 2006 for businesses from the Muslim world. The figures were released by the US-based business strategy e-magazine Dinar Standard. With $944 billion in total revenues and a healthy 37 percent in revenue growth over the previous year’s $688 billion, the DS100 ranking shows a continuing strengthening of the Muslim world economy, according to the DS100 third annual ranking. The ranking, which is based on end of 2005 revenue figures, showed strong growth in all industries, but the integrated oil and gas companies led this growth at 42 percent from the year before riding on a 40 percent rise in the oil spot price.
Saudi Aramco, the world’s top oil producer, continues to lead the DS100 list as the largest business enterprise in the Muslim world with an estimated 49 percent rise in its revenues from the previous year. The other Saudi companies on the list are Kingdom Holding Co. (11), Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) (13), Saudi Telecom Company (22), Dallah Albaraka Group (34), Saudi Electricity Company (36), Saudi Binladin Group (38), Saad Group of Companies (42), Saudi Oger Company Ltd. (52), Abdul Latif Jameel Group (53), Consolidated Contractors International Company (57), Al-Rajhi Bank (75), Samba Financial Group (77), National Commercial Bank (82) and Savola Group (87).
Most of the Saudi companies with top positions on the DS100 list also featured on the Arab News list of Top 100 Saudi Companies for 2006 published in November 2006. Those which did not feature in the Arab News ranking last year still remain among the biggest companies in the region. Companies from 19 out of the 57 Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) countries are on the DS100. Turkey dominated the 2006 DS100 list with 26 companies, followed by Malaysia 17, Saudi Arabia 15, Indonesia 10, UAE 6, Egypt 5, Iran and Kuwait 3 each, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan and Kazakhstan 2 each and Algeria, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Syria and Morocco one each.
SABIC, the Middle East’s largest non-oil industrial company, leads the list of publicly traded companies followed by the Turkish giant Koc Holding. Fifty-five of the 100 companies on the DS100 are publicly traded firms in 11 different countries. While a majority of the companies on the DS100 are publicly traded, the bulk of the total revenue, more than 67 percent, is attributed to the 28 government-owned companies on the list.
In spite of the energy sector’s dominance, strong growth performances were also logged by the construction (36 percent), food processing (30 percent), transportation (23 percent), and telecom (20 percent) sectors.
Rafi-uddin Shikoh, editor and founder of Dinar Standard, said: “This year’s list represents a mere 10 percent of the $9.2 trillion in revenues attributed to the global 100 companies from Fortune magazine’s 2006 Global 500 list. However, a higher revenue growth of 37 percent by DS100 companies against the world 100’s revenue growth of 14 percent is a positive sign.” Petronas (Malaysia), SABIC (Saudi Arabia), and KOC Holding (Turkey) are the only three DS100 companies also on the Fortune 500 Global list.
“In today’s global environment, leadership of the biggest enterprises within OIC member states plays a significant role in raising the competitiveness bar within each country,” he added.
“Strategic priorities of the DS100 companies in context of regional and even global play through either organic market expansion or acquisitions should continue to secure a positive trajectory” Rafi-uddin said.