For the first time in six years (since the list first appeared) no Japanese company has appeared in Forbes' list of the most profitable Asian companies. By contrast, the Asia-Pacific edition of the financial weekly includes as many as 23 Chinese companies, which now occupy half of the ranking.
In 2005, 13 Japanese companies featured prominently in the top 50, including Toyota and Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic). The number has decreased year by year until the current debacle. The bad result was partly due to the effects of the earthquake that devastated Japan last March, but it was also caused by an improvement in the competitiveness of Chinese industry. Beijing has gone from 16 presences last year to 23, with companies in the real estate, construction and automotive sectors. Among others, home appliance maker Haier Co and China Merchants Bank made their debuts in the rankings. After the Chinese one, the largest presence is from South Korea (with 8 companies in the ranking) followed by India (7) and Australia (3).
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