An all-time record number of Chinese companies appear in the 2009 Fortune 500 list of top global companies while the number of US firms has fallen to a record low, the South China Morning Post reported, citing Fortune magazine. China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, also known as Sinopec, made its top 10 debut, coming ninth in the rankings, while a total of 37 Chinese firms made the top 500, including nine new entrants. There new entrants were, in descending order of rank: Jardine Matheson, CITIC Group, China Unicom, China Huaneng Group, Aviation Industry Corp of China, China South Industries Group, Jiangsu Shagang Group, Bank of Communications and the Aluminum Corp. of China. The top spot in the list went to Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell. It replaced Wal-Mart, which dropped to third. It was the first time in more than 10 years that a non-US firm ranked first on the list.
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