US retail king Walmart toppled Royal Dutch Shell from the top spot on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest companies, based on total revenues, the magazine said on Monday, cbsnews.com informs. Walmart Stores reported USD 476.3 billion in revenues for 2013 as it ramped up international business. Royal Dutch Shell of the Netherlands, which reigned for the prior two years, slipped to second place as revenues fell to USD 459.6 billion. Two Chinese energy companies – Sinopec Group and China National Petroleum – held the third and fourth spots, ahead of US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil. Banks dominated the list with 55 companies, followed by energy companies (40) and automakers (33). The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, was the highest-ranked bank as revenues surged 11.3 percent to USD 148.8 billion. In the technology sector, South Korea’s Samsung was the largest, holding the 13th spot, ahead of US rival Apple, which moved up four places to 15.
