Top 500 Chinese companies' revenue sets record in 2016

NANCHANG - The top 500 Chinese companies reported a combined revenue of 64 trillion yuan ($9.84 trillion) in 2016, setting a new record after a two-year decline.

The revenue was 7.64 percent higher than that in 2015, according to China Enterprise Confederation/China Enterprise Directors Association which published its annual list on Sunday.

The confederation said Chinese manufacturers were recovering. About half of the top firms on the list are manufacturers, with a combined net profit of 549 billion yuan. Manufacturers saw their share of profit among the top 500 firms rise up to 19.4 percent, representing the most significant growth since 2011.

But companies in the financial sector were not faring well, the confederation said. The five largest State-owned banks saw their share of profit in the top 500 drop for the third year.