Part of my job, the more interesting part, involves market research. I’m not in an industry that I’m really interested in, but I am intrigued by some aspects of it. Sometimes, my results lead me to deviate from my original intent out of curiosity. It’s like a chain of thoughts and I research about many different topics constantly, just because. I’m constantly amazed by the things I find, and surprised to find that a lot of the brands are actually under one same company. Did you know that Sealy, Stearns & Foster, and Bassett are all under Tempur? There are many things that you spend so much time choosing between 2 brands, but they are actually; the same company and probably uses the same suppliers with little real differentiation in quality.
I have yet again deviated from my point. The intent was to share my shock and disbelief when I found out which are the largest companies in the world. Make a guess? I bet that probably not many people know that the top 3 companies in the world is actually Chinese. ICBC bank is top, followed by China Construction Bank and Agriculture Bank of China. JP Morgan is 4th while Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway is 5th, with Exxon Mobil at 6th place. Apple is only ranked 15th. So yes, the tide is changing. Chinese companies now take up the most slots in the Top 2000 ranking, 674 places to be exact. Oil and Gas companies also take up quite a few top places.
Food for thought for those who dislike mandarin, and those stupid policies that reduce the importance of mandarin in Singapore. Even if you do not work in a Chinese company, there are high chances that you will get to work with the Chinese or have Chinese vendors or customers. Being able to speak mandarin fluently will definitely help and make things a lot easier, even if the Chinese do speak English.
Here are the links if you’re interested:
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