Top 100 firms in Muslim world grow by 37%

[Al-khiyal]

The top 100 businesses in the Muslim world have recorded an aggregate revenue growth of 37 per cent over the previous year, a report said.

Riding on high oil prices, the integrated oil and gas companies led the growth in revenues at 42 per cent over the year before, but were closely supported in strong performances by the construction (+36 per cent), food processing (+30 per cent), transportation (+23 per cent), and telecom (+20 per cent) sectors.

These were some of the highlights of business strategy e-magazine Dinar Standard's third annual report which ranks the top 100 businesses in the 57 member countries of the OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference).

Ulker, the Turkey based food processing global brand showed the highest revenue growth at 83 per cent compared to the year before, meanwhile Malaysian auto manufacturer Proton, marred by local competitive woes, recorded the biggest drop at -8 per cent in revenues.

The purpose of the DS100 is to portray as close a picture as possible of the corporate environment in OIC member countries, said a spokesman.

It continues to include government and private enterprises, for whom data was verified through public sources, to reflect their disproportionately significant role in the economies of the Muslim world.

At the same time, more than half of the list is comprised of publicly listed companies (55 of the 100) representing the growing public markets of the Muslim world.

"This year's ranking shows a continued strengthening of OIC member states' economies," says editor of Dinar Standard Rafi-uddin Shikoh.

"There is visible growth in professional business and competitiveness related events and benchmarking tools in the major economies of OIC member states. We are encouraged by this trend and are confident that the DS100 ranking is playing its part in raising the spirit of competitiveness in the region."

Saudi Aramco, the world's top oil producer, continues to lead the DS100 as the largest business enterprise of the Muslim world with an estimated 49 per cent rise in its revenues from the previous year showing the continuing dominance of the Energy sector on the ranking.

However, it is the diversified conglomerates that have the highest representation on the list (22 of the 100), with Turkish family owned conglomerates Koc Holding, Sabanci Holding, and Dogus Holding having the highest revenues.

Turkish companies continue to lead the list with 26 represented enterprises, followed by 17 from Malaysia, 15 from Saudi Arabia, and 10 from Indonesia. Other countries represented include the UAE, Pakistan, Iran, Nigeria, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Bahrain, and Algeria.

Top 100 firms in Muslim world grow by 37%

[Al-khiyal]

The 2006 DS100 Top 100 Companies of the Muslim World - Full list