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Europe's Top Companies

DW staff (jp)February 20, 2007

Germany's green energy sector might be number one in the world, but German businesses are conspicuously absent from the list of Europe's top 15 companies, valued according to market worth.

https://p.dw.com/p/9svJ
German companies are lagging behind Europe's top firmsImage: AP

Topping the list compiled by international investment company Fidelity is Russian energy giant Gazprom, with a stock exchange value of 184 billion euros ($241.5 billion).

Second place goes to HSBC (banking and financial services) and British Petroleum (BP), both worth 156 billion euros, followed by Glaxosmithkline (pharmaceuticals), worth 126 billion euros. All three are British companies.

A poor showing for Germany

Dossier Telekom Bild 1 Flaggen vor Telekom
How the mighty have fallenImage: AP

The first German entry is Siemens at number 19, valued at 75 billion euros, followed by energy concern E.ON worth 70 billion euros in 23rd place. Germany's third biggest company is Allianz, worth 67 billion euros, which ranks just 28th in Europe.

German Telecom -- which topped the list in 2000 -- might be the fourth largest in Germany but it's a long way down the European table at number 32, well ahead of Deutsche Bank at 34th place (fifth in Germany) and DaimlerChysler, (37), SAP (44) and RWE (47).

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